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Updated on December 28, 2020

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The 66^th Annual FUN Convention for January 2021 is Cancelled

It is with great disappointment that the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) board of directors is announcing FUN 2021 is cancelled. Slated for January 7-10, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the convention would have been the 66th annual event held by the Florida organization devoted to serving collectors of coins, paper money, medals, and tokens.

The FUN board has worked hard to make this show a reality, desperately wanting to provide a venue for our dealers to get back to what they love and have our numismatic community be able to convene again. However, it has become clear that the "cons" far outweigh the "pros" at this point in time. The COVID virus is spiraling out of control and the predictions are that will continue to get worse through the dates of the FUN show.

First and foremost is the concern for the health and well-being of our dealers, our service providers, and our public attendees. There are currently many concerns and many unknowns. The FUN board built in precautions with mandatory masks, purchasing hand sanitizer, and performing daily temperature checks of everyone who enters the bourse area but was still apprehensive about being able to keep everyone safe with some level of social distancing and other safety measures.

"It was a very difficult decision, but we must cancel the FUN 2021 convention," says FUN President Bob Hurst. "The board of directors agreed to continue as long as the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests stayed at 10% or less in Orange County, Florida. Currently, it is at 14%, and we cannot wait to see if it will go down. Making the decision to cancel this 66th annual show was not made in haste. I hope to see all of you at Summer FUN 2021."

[Note: According to the WESH TV news site, the number of new cases testing positive in Florida escalated Friday through Wednesday after Thanksgiving from 7.85% to 9.12%. Orlando's mayor reports an average positive rate in Orange county over the previous 14 days of 6.2%. However, these statistics and increasing number of new positive cases was only one factor that was considered. Another issue was that FUN had 60 dealers cancel their booths in 7 days during this time, dropping us from 400 booths to 340 booths. The January show has been hovering at 600 booths in recent years. All cancellations were COVID-related. Either age and health factors prevented them from attending, or the regulations of their local area did. Most of those from the northeast U.S. and the west coast would be forced to quarantine for 14 days after returning home from the FUN show. On Wednesday morning we found out the host hotel, The Rosen Centre, would not be open for the FUN show as originally planned. Two of our five FUN-sponsored club buses had cancelled because they could not get enough riders on the buses. The minimum needed is 20, and in the past these clubs normally fill their 50-passenger buses. With this information that many or most of the dealers and public were backing out quickly with the rising number of COVID cases, within a matter of days it became quite clear this convention simply was not going to happen with any possible level of success. Because of the above COVID-related issues, the 2021 FUN convention was destined to be a financial failure with lost income and increased expenses, costing FUN an estimated $300,000 to $500,000.00. All of these factors were considered when deciding to cancel the show for January 2021.]

"I know this was an incredibly difficult decision of the entire FUN Board, but it was the correct one," remarks Heritage Auctions CEO Steve Ivy. "In the final analysis the wellbeing of FUN and its members is the ultimate consideration. The January FUN convention is and will continue to be the premier coin show of the year. Heritage Auctions and its entire staff look forward to the upcoming summer show and auction with even more anticipation than normal. And the January 2022 show will be like no other."

Our clubs are unable to get their members to commit to attend the show and are cancelling their FUN-sponsored club buses. We believe this is a good indicator that the public is not yet comfortable attending a convention.

If you booked a hotel reservation through FUN's official housing bureau your reservation will automatically be cancelled. Refund checks will be mailed to all who paid a bourse fee.

FUN deeply regrets disappointing many people, but we look forward to better days ahead and a hugely successful show in July 2021. We encourage all of you to consider attending Summer FUN in 2021. The FUN board will meet in the early spring to consider special plans for that show to help make up for the loss of our January show. We will have plenty of promotional items in storage to give away and we can all celebrate better days together. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate these unprecedented situations.

If you are not a member of FUN and are curious about our publication, go to the link in "What's New at FUN" and preview the FUN Topics publication Winter 2020 Edition.

Remember to return to this site for up to date information about all FUN shows.

The FUN will start again at 10:00 July 8^th, 2021 in Orlando Florida

67^th Annual F.U.N. Convention

Orlando, FL

January 6 - 9, 2022

The 67^th annual FUN Convention will be January 6 - 9, 2022 at the Orange County Convention Center. 9899 International Dr., Orlando FL 32819. Dealer set-up is January 5^th from 2:00-8:00 PM. Early Birds get in at 2:00 PM.

Admission to the show is 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. Dealers & Early Bird dealers should pay their $20 FUN dues by mail and avoid the lines.

See you in July For the 16^th Summer FUN Convention!

What is FUN?

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: