The drive was too long
Arizona had the collectors. It had the dealers. What it didn't have was anybody running a card show on a schedule you could plan around.
Copper State started in 2016, after one too many weekends spent driving to California for a decent show. Ray Delgado had been collecting since the late eighties and setting up as a part-time dealer since 2011, and the complaint was always the same one.
The first show was 22 tables in a Phoenix banquet room. Every table sold and about 180 people came through the door.
We've run monthly ever since — Tucson joined in 2019, the Mesa Sunday show in 2022. These days it's three shows a month and a regular crew of dealers who set up at all of them.
That part is deliberate. Someone who comes to the Mesa show should see many of the same faces they'd see in Phoenix, because knowing who you're buying from is most of what makes a show worth the drive.
We're still small enough that Ray is the person who answers the phone, checks you in at the door, and sorts out your table if something's wrong with it.
Four things we don't move on
- 01Dates go out earlyThe schedule is published months ahead so dealers can plan their year and collectors can plan their weekend.
- 02Prices are publicWhat's on the vendor page is what you pay. No quiet premium for a better spot, no rate that depends on who's asking.
- 03Every table gets filledIf a dealer drops out, the table goes to the waiting list rather than sitting empty and making the floor look thin.
- 04We don't oversell the floorAisles stay wide enough for two people and a box, which is why table counts are capped per show.