Democrats and Republicans will gather in Columbus next week.
Think of this as the Olympics of political collecting. The Super Bowl of presidentials. Every other year, the American Political Items Collectors holds a national convention, simply known as the APIC National. Next week, APIC members will be gathering in Columbus, Ohio, for this show.
Two years ago, the last National was held in Buffalo, NY, the first political collectibles show ever held in the city. That fact helped lead to what many collectors called the best APIC National ever held. Lots of great old political and advertising items walked in the door from local residents and were auctioned on the floor of the show each day.
This year’s team has been working for more than a year to try to match what was done in Buffalo. While the show technically opens to the public on Thursday, Aug. 2, there are events beginning Monday for APIC members. For those who have never been to an APIC show, room hopping is when dealers and collectors set their stock for sale or trade out in their rooms and buy/sell/trade right there. Below is the schedule of events.
Monday, July 30: All day room hopping
Christopher Columbus won’t be there, but political collectors will be in Columbus, Ohio next week.
Tuesday, July 31: All day room hopping. Chalk and Awe II, a sidewalk button drawing competition in front of the hotel at 10 a.m. Heirloom tomato tasting sponsored by Al Anderson, well-known tomato grower and political auctioneer, 2 p.m. In the evening, World Series of Trivia.
Wednesday, Aug. 1: All day room hopping, registration from 4-6 p.m. and exhibit setup. Presidential reception, 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 2: Dealer setup 7:30-9 a.m. Bourse and exhibits open to public 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Auction preview 5:30 p.m., dealer auction begins at 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 3: Chapter meetings, seminars 9-11 a.m. Presidential Forum 11 a.m.-noon. Bourse and exhibits, noon-5 p.m. Afternoon coffeehouse, followed by Dixey City Limits (entertainment) show, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 4: APIC Awards breakfast, 8-10 a.m. Bourse open to public from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Convention ends at 1 p.m., but dealers will enjoy a German Village Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
The APIC National is not only for political collectors. There will be advertising collectibles and other historical items as well. If you are anywhere near Columbus next week, stop in at the Crown Plaza Hotel North, 6500 Doubletree Ave. and join us for a ton of fun.
[Editor's note: Tom Peeling is a regional vice president of APIC.]
John Curry It would be helpful if, among all the other details, you would state the cost of registration, so we could decide whether we want to take to trouble to go up there, rather than have to go and find out the cost when we get there. August 1st, 2012 at 12:53 PM