The Show Report Archives
Long Beach Show Report
by Sid Emerson
By Sid Emerson
The last Long Beach Coin &
Collectibles Expo was held on February 5th-9th,
2009. The main theme for this show so far as the label section was
concerned is the very word, “theme.” When asked where the action
was in labels, the answer was always “subject matter.” Upon further
reflection, I guess it always has been. Someone reminded me that
this was not the Long Beach Cigar Box Label Convention!! “You’re
kidding,” I responded, “Is that why most people coming to our tables
ask for everything from animals and buildings to young kids and
zebras – not cigar box labels specifically?” We know they aren’t
coming back to our section just because they are on their way to the
food and/or restroom areas.
It’s true that just about every subject or theme you can imagine
shows up on cigar box labels. Even the diehard coin and medal
collectors can find lots of cigar box labels within those themes.
You can easily follow the history of a young, vibrant nation by the
images portrayed on cigar label art.
The period from 1870-1930 was the boom for cigars. Cigar making was
one of the major industries at that time. Cigar companies could
afford to make their labels “pieces of art” reflecting the popular
themes of those decades. With over 100,000 different images, every
theme was bound to show up.
Now that labels can be viewed by most everyone in the world via the
internet, interest continues to grow. Labels are easy to scan,
package and ship. Label dealers at the show thoroughly enjoyed
showing and discussing the labels with both seasoned and novice
collectors. They never seemed to tire of answering questions about
the thousands of “themes” on these beautiful historical pieces of
art. Dealers at this show were Mike Bianco, Nick Buzolich, Sid
Emerson and Ken Nichols. David Lisot from Heritage Auctions (an
early cigar label dealer,) dropped by our section to stir up our
label juices. David was ahead of his time in recognizing the
potential of such widespread interest for cigar labels. David’s
enthusiasm and pleasant ways always makes him a nice addition to the
great group we have at the label tables.
We had a good mix of advanced or veteran collectors including John
Camp, Kirk Harris, Joe Jan Lois, Ron New and Mike Rector. Newer
enthusiasts included Sharron Mahound, Frank Magnone, Joe Nardoni,
David Valdez, Marry Wells and Will Worthington. This mix, along
with the people searching for special “themes,” made for an exciting
show and we enjoyed every minute of it.
See you at the next Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Expo on May 28th-30th,
2009
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