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 Replies: 29 / Views: 2,999 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1704 Posts |
I attended my first coin show when I was about 11 or 12 and have always enjoyed myself at each and every one I ever attended. There is one this Sunday where I will be picking up an 1838 Reeded Edge bust half dollar for my 7070 album. It's a nice problem free original XF. I will probably spend all day there as I almost always do visiting with the dealers I frequently do business with. You will see a wide variety of coins in all grades for every budget and don't hesitate to ask to see coins which you know you can't afford it's all part of the learning process and most dealers understand this and are quite accommodating as they see you as a potential future customer. Simple rules to follow at a coin show Be polite Be patient, if a dealer is busy quietly wait until he/she notices that you are waiting to look at something and then they will attend to you. If a dealer is very busy try to limit the number of questions you have about coins until things slow down for them. If one dealer is busy there is always another who isn't and most enjoy helping out novice collectors. Have fun, and enjoy your first coin show and hopefully you can find a bargain you can brag about. Ed. I started collecting in 1966, sold off that collection in the late 1980's and got back into collecting late 2010. ANA LM-3175 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
917 Posts |
I went to my first coin show over last weekend. From the one trip I learned to ALWAYS bring your own loupe. I didnt and I got the stink eye from a few vendors. I read on CCF that you could ask the vendors for any extra albums that they dont want, and I took that to heart cause I'm cheap. I ended up with 6 danscos and an old witman just for asking. Bring a list of the items you are looking for not just a browsing mentality. The dealers seem to like that better cause you just became 100 times easier to help. Bring the coins and use them as trade the few dealers I was around when someone had a coin didnt seem to care at all. Good luck with your coin show. Oh and keep an eye out for the junk bins things seem to show up in those all the time.
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Valued Member
United States
111 Posts |
We went to our first coin show this weekend. I loved it. Was so much more than I expected! Found what I had on my want list. Found many of the dealers to be very friendly. As someone mentioned in an earlier post they do like it when you tell them specifically what you are looking for. Found a booth that had hundreds of Indian & Wheaties half off. I had so much fun going through and picked out some nice pennies. Did pick up a book to start saving my Indian Head cents in. The guy had it with a whole stack he was selling for a lump sum. But, sold it for me for 50 cents. Great day!  |
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Valued Member
United States
326 Posts |
What is the best way to find out about future coin shows in town?
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Valued Member
United States
111 Posts |
That's a good question for another newbie. Maybe someone has a better way. I found the coin show yesterday by googling here in Indiana.
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
 I found out about coin shows by just looking stuff up on the web --and went to my first one just 13 months ago. I even found a club in the city where I live and several more in the area that are just a bit too far for a woman of my advanced years to drive to. But it seems there are shows at least a few times a year nearby. Also, here in Illinois, there is a state organization (they have shows too) and they have a web site that lists what's going on regarding shows and clubs and what towns they're in. Hope you find some near you! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
558 Posts |
it's true. The dealers are quite friendly and helpful. There were more coins then I expected. I was looking at the MS65 Morgans but didn't find one I could pull the trigger on. In regards to selling, I found that they look up on the sheet for the price and then offer you under that. They don't take into consideration the eye appeal or anything. I sold a couple of coins. I learned a lot about the coin biz. too.
Edited by BrickellCat
11/06/2011 9:29 pm
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
I've been attending coin shows for years but a few years ago, I made my first 1909-S V.D.B. purchase. This particular dealer was so nice and trusting, I gave him $500 cash and told him to hold the coin and I will send the rest in any form of payment he wished. He slid the coin to me, said "take it home with you, I know you will send me the rest, here is my card". I could not believe it! The next day, I had the remainder of his $ in the mail off to him. Needless to say, him and I have a great relationship to this day. I thought that was pretty cool.
Extremely trusting on his part, he barely knew me at the time.
Thought I'd share that story.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5862 Posts |
Looks like I'll be taking the family to the Bay State Coin Show this weekend here in Boston. I plan on bringing some extra coins for trade as well as a roll of "junk" Morgan dollars that I picked up in a batch of mixed Morgans. Plus some cash. I'll have to use the cash sparingly, since my wife will be with me and won't be too happy if I spend too much, but I'm told this is a really nice coin show and I hope to upgrade some of my 7070 album coins. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1704 Posts |
Great coin show stories. I enthusiastically recommend everyone attend as many coins shows as your individual budget allows, they are some the best places to interact with other collectors and establish long term relationships with coin dealers who you would not otherwise have contact with. I also recommend joining a local coin club as their meetings are a good place to learn much about this hobby of ours. Ed ANA LM-3175 Member Central Valley Coin Club Modesto, CA. |
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Valued Member
United States
326 Posts |
I found a local club that has a show every month. The next one is on November 20th so I will be going to my first show and I'm really looking forward to it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1510 Posts |
Larry thats a shame the pic in your avatar......
Retired USAF 1983-2003
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
What is the best way to find out about future coin shows in town? Question gets asked a lot and some really strange results if you just use the Google or some of the coin places like Coin World. By that I mean you may well miss some of the shows due to not being listed where you look. If you go to Google and type in coin shows and your state, you will get a fairly decent quantity of coin show listings. HOWEVER, my experiences with that is I would miss about 1/3 of all coin shows in my area only doing this. Just to make sure you get a complete list of all coin shows, do the Google search. Then try for coin clubs in your state or even city. Many coin clubs have shows but are poorly advertised. Don't know why but one of ours is always missing from most Google listings. One thing I've found is if you do go to a coin show, ask dealers where the next one is and the date. At some coin shows there is a table at the front with advertisements for other shows. And as for selling coins at a show, many, many people do this all the time. Some that don't want to rent a table will just walk around asking people if they want this or that. Usually those are way overpriced sellers though. One more thing is to use the search tab at the top for coin shows. Should be lots of posts on that subject. Edited by just carl
11/07/2011 5:59 pm
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Valued Member
United States
421 Posts |
When I was younger I would take a train from my home town to Boston. Then A buddy and I would walk to the coin stores and have to be buzzed it. I was like a kid in a candy store. I hit my first coin show in Pittsburgh back in 1990 I think. It was a PAN show not alot of dealers but it was good. I agree coin shows are a great way of meeting other coin collectors and building relationships with future dealers.
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Replies: 29 / Views: 2,999 |
First Page
Posted 11/03/2011 12:36 pm
