A Few Thoughts On Coin Dealers

Lacking a better place, I'm going to post this here since it concerns some Canadian coins I looked at.

The other day, I dropped by a coin dealer here in California to look through their Canadian inventory. One of my favorite ways to kill a few hours is to search through stock for varieties. Normally, dealers are pretty cool about this, but once I took my loupe out, this particular dealer began scrutinizing my every move--on their trays of loose, circulated coins (!).

After choosing a few coins, this dealer then proceeds to spend the next hour looking up each coin and deciding whether it's this/that variety. While he was busy doing that, I asked if he had any MS RD cents from 1940-45. He then pulls out a book and shows me what he calls three "red MS" cents from 42-44. At first glance, they look good until I pass my 8X loupe over them and see the unmistakable hairlines of an aggressive cleaning job. So, while said dealer is ready to scrutinize my every move, they were ready to sell me junk coins for top price! Sigh.

Here's a few thoughts for dealers if you read here:

1. Don't drag your customers through some tedious process every time they buy. If you suspect something is valuable, research on your own time, then set price accordingly.

2. Disclose your problem coins up front. If a customer finds a key/showcase coin has been obviously doctored, you've lost their trust forever.