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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,707 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I think I will be visiting the London coin fair on the 1st of December... it would have been nice to meet up with some of the guys from the ancient section of the forums but no response and many on these forums are from across the water...
Anyway I am excited to be visiting my first show (I vaguely remember a brief visit when I was a boy and I have a medal saying London Coin fair 1984) so I was trying to work out a budget...and what I want to get for that budget.
I will then take that amount of cash and hope I can get good deals and aquire everything on my list. Is that how most people approach it?
I figure I want to get as many items as possible, since they will all be in one place so I wont go for any really big purchases (no gold for me)
Its quite a varied shopping list and hopefully will come in at about £600 or less. For those experienced coin show people how are prices likely to compare to buying online? Will everyone expect to barter or will the prices I get quoted be near the mark in the first place?
My list so far if anyone is interested:
$1 1917 F36-F39 USA legal tender note
$2 1917 F57-F60 USA legal tender note
$50 1985 Green seal small head USA note
(completes my USA banknote type collection with exception of Hawaii notes)
Byzantine Follis, Justinian II with Sophie
1 x Medieval hammered silver short cross penny Nicole
£5 portrait Page
£10 portrait Hollum
£5 wellington Gill
£5 stevenson Gill
(Completes my British banknote signature collection with exception of Bradbury 10/s)
5 x Common Roman bronzes
M.Aurelius AR Denarius
Thrace Chersonesus AR Hemidrachm or Thrace Messembria AR Diobol
2 or 3 x 1 Ounce Bullion coins Brittania/Maple/Eagle
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
A few things I take to a show is a list of stuff I want and what the FMV is for each item. I also take along a loupe.I see no reason why you can't make a "respectable" offer on any item. John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
For the banknotes I looked up the list prices and searched them online... ebay were offering them lower than the list prices. The coins I have done plenty of checking online, I just wonder whether a dealer can compete but I guess I will see soon :) A loupe is not a bad idea either, thanks John. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
538 Posts |
I usually find my best deals at a show. They usually beat out online prices because a lot of them had to travel some ways to get to the show and have to make sales usually at any cost to make the trip financially viable.
I've also noticed that you can usually get better deals towards the end of the show as dealers are trying to get rid of inventory. However you will obviously have a much better selection of choices at the beginning of the show. So I will often go the first day to find the nicer specimens or harder to find items and pick those up with some haggling and then come back on the last day to get some great deals on some of the more common items like junk silver.
Have fun! Coin shows are addicting and it's awesome fun looking around at everything. I almost always wind up finding something that wasn't even on my list of things to buy lol.
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Valued Member
United States
331 Posts |
I don't know how big a coin show the London Fair is but when I go to a show I have a list of stuff I take. Money: I take what I expect to spend but I also take an ATM/Credit (remember the pin#) card in case I see something I have to have.:) Glasses. Pens and paper. If you see soemthing you like but want to shop around, make a note of the table number and the item and come back later. Your own business cards. They should have your name and e-mail at least and a phone# would be nice. You can give them to dealers that specialize in your type of collecting and you can write on the back anything specific your looking for. A secure (zippered) pouch or bag. It may look geeky but a fanny pack keeps the important stuff attached to me and I don't set it down and lose it. Any reference books you may need, if you can carry them, are handy plus you can put any purchased notes between the pages to protect them from damage. The last isn't an item but a suggestion, make sure you have enough time. There nothing like getting towards the end of the day and you haven't covered the whole bourse. You just know that big bargain was in the next display case!
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
Useful tips...
London coin fair is quite large I believe (well the largest we have over here) but it only last for the morning... so I want to get around it quickly and effeciently and I am leaving the cards at home because otherwise I am sure I will blow the budget.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
 I also like to do a quick scan of the entire show and try to make note of where I want to spend time. I like the "generalist" dealers at shows. If I am after coppers I will typically skip dealers that specialize in these. I tend to find better value from people that just have album after album of rudimentarily cataloged items. The cherrypick hunt is thrilling and can be very rewarding. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1351 Posts |
I like the monthly Midland coin fair held at the NEC motorbike museum.Excellent facilities and not rows of overpriced gold.Every 3 months there are bigger fairs where smaller dealers are given a chance.
Take a loupe with a built in LED as the lighting is not top class and no one likes to buy a pup.(2nd Sunday every month)
Get some deep heat for coin collectors stoop.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Now here is what I always do prior to any coin show. 1. I make a list of all the coins I would really like to purchase 2. I make a list of all the coins I need to finish a collection. 3. I make a list of all the coins I'd like to buy just to have. Then I get dressed, leave those lists at home, go to the coin show and buy whatever I want and can afford.  |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,707 |
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Posted 11/25/2012 09:07 am
