March 4, 2003: A Little Trip to Bowers and Merena

I shot over to Wolfeboro, NH today for a little lot viewing at B&M and, as it was so out of the norm for coin companies (and life in general), I thought I’d post this for those who’ve never been.

Spoke to someone there named Cynthia a few days ago about checking out the Baltimore lots before the auction and was told that lot viewing would be possible at their office today only, which I thought was a little odd, but what the heck.

Pulled up the directions on Mapquest and then took a leisurely drive through a bunch of little tiny towns to the little hamlet (I don’t believe I’ve ever used this word before) of Wolfeboro on the shores of Lake Winnepasaukie in the heart of the White Mountains which looked white as advertised and very, very cold. Its really a beautiful, quaint little place completely in the middle of nowhere where no regular business person would ever dream of setting up a company. The little sign when you enter town says ”Wolfeboro – America’s Oldest Summer resort’ which I am inclined to believe.

B&Ms office is in an victorianesque kind of house directly fronting the lake, which was fabulous, though frozen. The building itself would best be described as ramshackle. Its also the kind of place anybody would dream about setting up a company doing what they love.

I had spoken to and corresponded with QDB a few times through the years and while I had never visited his office I always imagined it looked a bit like his writing style (based on his letters – not on his carefully edited books), which is to say totally disorganized, chaotic, with massive piles of crap everywhere. I figured him for the kind of guy who needs his secretary to run in and find anything he might need at that moment. I also imagined rare coins indiscriminately dumped everywhere – on top of filing cabinets, on the floor. Maybe one in the men’s room. And old catalogs shoved in every available nook and/or cranny.

After visiting, I am pleased to report that I was pretty much correct. Its kind of a big cozy mess even after QDBs departure, and one gets the impression of the new management hurriedly trying to bring the company first into the 20th century before even considering tackling present day.

The staff, most of whom had been there for years, were wonderfully nice and pleasant, though they all seemed a little shell-shocked by recent events. They spoke about it in hushed tones which reminded me a little bit of how Singaporeans speak about their government, which is to say they first look around the room and make sure the secret police aren’t around before saying anything even remotely critical. Probably not the easiest situation for the long-timers at the moment.

I should say that I met the new guy whose name escapes me at the moment who seemed pretty cool.

Lot viewing was lot viewing, though it was a little like doing it at Grandpas house, in a cozy little room with friendly, nice easy-going people, as opposed to, for example, a viewing room at Heritage with a bunch of newly minted security guards about to flip out on you when you reach into your briefcase for your Redbook.

I sure hope B&M survives and they retain their ‘charm’, but my sense is its one or the other.

JA