Coin Shows Are Now ______!!

I can't wait to the big show here at the end of the month. I hope there are some deals to be had o bullion and coins.

Most probably he is not a coin dealer, he came to the show to sell silver or copper items as spoons and candle sticks as you mentioned but he brought some coins just to fit in the show.

Its obvious he knows nothing about coins

I can't find a show that around my area (64093) that is more than once a year :(

The Metro Detroit area has about 3 shows a month too. But our shows are about half the size. No problem yet with them turning into flea markets. Still just coins, with bullion being a secondary thing for the dealers.

I too have noticed an increase of slabbed coins. I cant help but wonder if the dealers melted all there other stuff and now it just seems like an increase. The ratio just changed, not the quantity of the slabbed coins... Don't know... My favorite Canadian dealer did that. Melted his low grade stuff, now just has high grade coins.

Those silly copper bars and rounds are like bed bugs, they won't go away. One dealer I was talking to said he was making money off off them and then the market fell out of a tree. He can't give those things away. And he bought a LOT of them... I do see the prices dropping on them big time...

Those bars especially, are just a con. They are nothing but bar stock somebody cut into smaller lengths, then crudely stamps a logo onto them, then sell them as "investment" bullion bars. You can see the saw marks on the ends, and they don't even de-burr them, I could have easily cut myself on the sharp edges.

I work at a machine shop, I was actually talking to the aforementioned dealer who was selling them about being his supplier of the bars. I was going to order the material through my company and make them in the shop after work. Have the pattern shop make me a simple stamp for the logo and go to town.

But that market is going the way of collector plates and beanie babys...

Really not easy. A Google or Yahoo search is basically the same as checking out Coin World or other such sourses. We here have a Forum for coin shows if you look. Naturally not all there either. No one on Earth really has a complete listing of all the coin shows. For Example if I used the one found in Google for coin shows, I'd miss about 1/3 of all the ones by me. For some reason most do not show the one in Countryside, Illinois. And if they do, usually the wrong date. There was a really big one not to long ago around here that missed all those listings.
What I tell people is do the Google search, Then the Yahoo search. Then contact some local coin clubs and coin stores and ask them. Many people from coin stores have a representative at most local shows so they know when and where they are. Many local coin clubs put on coin shows but those really never make the Google or yahoo listings.
Usually every time someone mentions this subject someone just links them to that standard one from Google and if they go by that, they would miss about 1/3 of all shows.
Good luck finding them all.

I use www.coinshows.com, but as just carl has pointed out in the past, it does not list all of the shows in his area, so it may miss those in others.

Another way to search for shows is to look for the state numismatic association, or society. (Try XXXX State Numismatic Association, or XXXX State Numismatic Society. If that doesn't work try dropping the word State. On their websites they will usually list all the coin clubs and club sponsored shows in the state. This method may not find all the commercial shows though.

Many reasons a coin show is the best place to purchase coins.
1. Compitition makes for better prices so the more dealers the better the prices
2. Great place to check for authenticity too. If you buy a raw coin it's easy to ask other dealers what they think of it.
3. Some dealers are representatives of a local coin store so giving you a great price could make you a store visitor. Many times I've been told I have that at our store, wh not stop by. I've done that too.
4. Easy to haggle prices when face to face with a dealer unlike on the internet. Especially ebay.
5. Regardless of Gold, Silver or anything in coinage, the larger the visual quantities, the better the chances of finding what you like, want, need.
6. If you spend some time talking to dealers and get to know them, they may go out looking for something you want and at a great price.