2026 FUN Show Sets Attendance Record of 14,147, Dealer Jeff Garrett Reports
Coin dealer Jeff Garrett reported in CoinWeek on January 23, 2026, on the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention held in Orlando in January 2026. Total attendance was 14,147, according to the show's convention manager, which Garrett says was a record in the show's more than 70-year history. He writes that numerous dealers broke sales records.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the source. We removed unsupported claims of a "generational shift" and of coins as an inflation hedge, statements about demand for MS-65-plus and American classic coins, a quarterly sales record, a Sunday pre-event program, and general passages on online bidding, grading and investment returns, and stated the attendance figures (as announced by the show) and the dates as the source gives them. The previous headline was "2026 FUN Show: Record Attendance & Dealer Sales Signal Generational Shift in Rare Coin Market."
This article is based on a CoinWeek report published on January 23, 2026. It is a first-person account by coin dealer Jeff Garrett of the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention held in Orlando in January 2026. Garrett founded Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1984.
Garrett describes the 2026 FUN Convention as "wildly successful," with numerous dealers breaking sales records and overall attendance reaching an all-time high.
Business Before the Opening
Garrett's team arrived on the Sunday night before the show officially opened. He writes that he had heard of some dealers arriving as early as Friday. The goal is to see as many dealer inventories as possible before competitors do. He calls pre-show coin dealing "a brutally competitive business."
In the weeks before the show, silver had surged to new record highs. Garrett writes that pricing inventory accurately amid such rapid movement was a challenge for many dealers. His biggest concern was replacement cost: how expensive it would be to replace coins sold during the show.
Monday Appointments and the Heritage Lots
Monday began with appointments, scheduled weeks in advance, to show inventory to some of the firm's largest buyers. Garrett writes that the first three dealers who viewed his coins each spent well into six figures, and that one dealer alone spent over $1 million, thanks to a special collection he had on consignment from a retail client.
Later that day, Garrett reviewed the Heritage Auctions lots. He writes that they included an 1804 Silver Dollar, an NGC MS 63 1808 Quarter Eagle, and a complete set of Stellas.
Dealer Day
Historically, the FUN Show organization resisted calls for a dedicated dealer trading day, and pre-show business took place in hotel rooms. After years of encouragement, FUN management agreed to host an official "Dealer Day" on Tuesday and part of Wednesday before public setup.
This year, FUN offered a dedicated dealer room on a first-come, first-served basis for a small fee. Dealer Day began at 9 a.m., and the room filled with 75 to 100 dealers. Garrett writes that many dealers likely did more business that day than during the rest of the show combined, and that several sold the majority of their inventory before the official show opened.
A Symposium and More Than 750 Tables
Traditional setup begins at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Before setup, the Professional Numismatists Guild hosted an educational symposium. This year it focused on live-stream numismatic sales, with presentations from Whatnot and eBay Live to a standing-room-only crowd.
The 2026 FUN Show featured more than 750 dealer tables.
Public Lines
Public entry began around noon on Thursday. Lines stretched the length of the building, and some members of the public reportedly waited more than 90 minutes to get in. Garrett writes that in more than 50 years of attending major coin shows, he has never seen a bourse floor this active.
He writes that many attendees said the show felt more like a sports expo or Comic-Con than a traditional coin show, and that coins were still selling out of the cases late on Saturday afternoon.
World and Ancient Coins
In recent years, more world and ancient coin dealers have come to the FUN Show. The New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) used to conflict with FUN, forcing dealers to choose. Now that NYINC takes place a week later, many no longer have to. As a result, the world and ancient section at the 2026 show was larger than ever. Garrett's firm bought ancient coins from a German dealer.
Grading Firms and Walmart
The Certified Collectibles Group (NGC and PMG) had a booth showing the range of collectibles it certifies, including comics and other non-numismatic items. The NGC on-site grading booth was busy from start to finish.
Representatives of Walmart were signing up dealers for the company's online platform, which Garrett says reaches hundreds of millions of monthly visitors.
Attendance
According to FUN Show Convention Manager Katie Williams, attendance was:
- Public: 11,595 - Early Bird: 477 - Dealers/Staff: 2,075 - Total: 14,147
Garrett writes that this broke all previous attendance records in the show's more than 70-year history. His company also set a new single-show sales record.
Source: CoinWeek, "2026 FUN Show Report by Jeff Garrett" (January 23, 2026).
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