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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,033 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
So I said to myself with the economy being so bad according to the news media, millions and millions of people out of work, no jobs anywhere, people starving and living on the streets, this is going to be a great coin show. Prices should be rock bottom and the place will be empty since no one has money, according to the news media. We have 3 steady coin shows a month around here. This is the bigger one with usually 80 to 100 dealers. So I got there about 9:30AM. No rush since the place should be empty and they open at 9AM. Inside there were no empty tables. Dealers at every one. Several dealers selling currency, one selling jewlery and everyone else selling coins, naturally. I know many of these dealers since they are the same ones at all these local shows. Ond dealer met me at the front door and asked if I wanted to buy some coins. He said he is retired and selling off his coins. There were customers at almost every table and several at some. One dealer I know that used to have some coins in my price range told me he doesn't want to be bothered with any coins under $100 anymore. Not worth his trouble. As usual the one dealer that sells mostly uncirc and proof modern coins was swamped with customers so that I couldn't get near the table. My favorite dealer said to me as soon as I walked up to his table that if I wanted any Mercury dimes, forget it. Last week he was at a show in Texas and they pretty much bought him out of them. Usually he marks all 2x2's with a price that is inflated by at least 10 to 20% so customers feel great when he says he'll give them a break and drop the prices by that amount. He told me that at the Texas show no one asked for any discounts. They were willing to pay what was marked. After several irritating hours of high prices I was ready to leave. The place was so crowded that it was getting difficult to get through the aisles. Coin prices were as high as possible and still people were buying so haggling a price was just not going to work. I did manage to spend a few hundred dollars on some coins that I shouldn't have since not really great deals. One dealer had a so called JUMK box that I went through and picked up some Walking Liberty halves. Prices marked were now half off and since he knew me I got even a better deal. Looked them up at home and they were about normal prices anyway. So what about this lousy economy? Hasn't any coin collectors heard about that? I did better when the economy was good for coin prices. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
All I can say is that the media loves to exaggerate.
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Valued Member
United States
250 Posts |
There are obviously a lot of people out there that still have good jobs and are making money but do not want to put it in the stock market. I talked to several dealers at the Houston show and they are seeing many new higher end collectors. The economy here in Texas does not seems to be hit as hard as many areas of the country (at least not yet) so I would imagine the Houston show was good for many of the dealers.
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Valued Member
United States
207 Posts |
I think it might be because people are investing the extra money they have in "real money" that they hope will give them a return in the future. The stock market has spooked a lot of investors so they are turning to other investments. I bought several coins this month at auctions and I got a very good price on them compared to what I would have paid a few months ago (even though Dec is historically a slow month). I have been buying more coins over the past few months than I normally do just because they hold their value (most of the time..lol), so no HD TV's or other stuff that does not hold it value for me this year  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
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So what about this lousy economy? The "state of the economy" is both one of perceptions, and how individuals responded to conditions against the actual financial backdrop of the last 20 years. Someone who got out of the working world a decade ago might not feel present conditions so acutely. Others, who were trying to pursue the "American dream" with a family in tow could easily leverage themselves to the gills because everyone else was doing it, despite stagnant income trends. Then there's the real estate market and the ongoing fallout. And, others on the receiving end of the credit/re estate expansion were enjoying record profits--but now somehow require a "bailout". Times were great for a few, but not for most. With stories like these, the media always follows and never leads. As an example: back in early 2005, when I was writing for a real estate blog, we noticed alarming, unsustainable trends in real estate, credit-leveraged banking, and Wall St.'s dependency on these markets. Back then, we wrote numerous letters to the media, but nobody was interested, dismissing these "problems" as unimportant (ie not in the public's eye). Well, I suppose I've gotten long-winded and far too pedantic and off-topic. Sorry!  I've studied this subject enough to become alarmed by the implications. Suffice to say, I know dealers who are hurting, and those who are OK because they adapt well to change. I hope people here will do well despite these uncertain times.  Psst.the media is actually understating the problem. The full write-downs to banks and fallout to various industries has yet to hit the fan.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
533 Posts |
A recent theory of mine is that coin collectors as a group tend to be more intelligent, and more responsible then the average non-collecting Joe. They also have less of a tendency to live paycheck-to-paycheck and therefore they have their own money, and are less succeptable to economic downturns. Now, I'm not saying that their 401(k) doesn't looks a bad as everyone elses, I'm just saying that they are not dependent on it. Just a theory though...
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Valued Member
United States
207 Posts |
Quote:
back in early 2005, when I was writing for a real estate blog, we noticed alarming, unsustainable trends in real estate, credit-leveraged banking, and Wall St.'s dependency on these markets. Back then, we wrote numerous letters to the media, but nobody was interested, dismissing these "problems" as unimportant (ie not in the public's eye). I was working for an geotech engineering firm in Denver during this time and I honestly did not understand how and why they were building like they were. It was a mad house, 1000's of houses and the contracts for geo technical work were flooding in. It was good business money at the time, but I knew it was going to pop because it made no sense. I got off topic but I understand what you were talking about KurtS. I saw it too. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
580 Posts |
Quote: My favorite dealer said to me as soon as I walked up to his table that if I wanted any Mercury dimes, forget it. Last week he was at a show in Texas and they pretty much bought him out of them. Usually he marks all 2x2's with a price that is inflated by at least 10 to 20% so customers feel great when he says he'll give them a break and drop the prices by that amount. He told me that at the Texas show no one asked for any discounts. They were willing to pay what was marked. I wonder if that was me. Before I drove down to that show in my '77 Cadillac with the obligatory longhorns fixed to the grille, I topped off the gas tank in my backyard using refined product straight out of one of my oil wells. Then I blew my nose with a hundred dollar bill and set off to the coin show to blow HSN-type money on a variety of coins I don't even collect! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Quote:
He told me that at the Texas show no one asked for any discounts. They were willing to pay what was marked. Nor do I care much about discounts at shows, because I usually look for stuff that's undervalued. I shoot for 5:1 to 10:1 on CV:price paid. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
I wonder if that was me. Before I drove down to that show in my '77 Cadillac with the obligatory longhorns fixed to the grille, I topped off the gas tank in my backyard using refined product straight out of one of my oil wells. Then I blew my nose with a hundred dollar bill and set off to the coin show to blow HSN-type money on a variety of coins I don't even collect!
AAHHHhhh, so you were the guy that bought up all those Mercury dimes at that show. Quote:
Nor do I care much about discounts at shows, because I usually look for stuff that's undervalued. I shoot for 5:1 to 10:1 on CV:price paid. Not me. I'm the one that will haggle (try to chew down) any price even if a fraction of what it should be. I'm a true flea market type person. If a coin is worth $1000 and the dealer is asking $10, I'd still offer him $6 or $8. Nothing to loose and it's fun. I once did something like that and the guy said OK. I almost was afraid he was kidding or something. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Quote:
Not me. I'm the one that will haggle (try to chew down) any price even if a fraction of what it should be. Ok, I admit that happens to me too. The dealer knocked $1 off the 1998-S LMC proof that's a close AM. However, I did return the favor preemptively by attributing a rare coin he had slabbed but not labeled correctly. It was a $2000+ coin he was selling for $300. |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,033 |
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Posted 12/15/2008 2:32 pm
