A Specific Question About Becoming A Coin Dealer

I am both collector and part-time dealer.

I began selling several years ago, but have been collecting for 40 years. Much of what I bought before I started the business remains segregated from the business. I do this by keeping business inventory in blue PCGS boxes and the collection in older green PCGS boxes.

If I want to sell some of the collection, I simply conduct a no-profit transfer of the coin from the collection to the business inventory, log that transaction into the business books and put the original purchase receipt in the business file. When the business sells the coin, the cost basis is exactly the same as what I paid when I purchased the coin as a collector, and the company pays taxes on any profit above that amount. This strategy helps to exhume (or "unbury") me from coins for which I paid too much as a collector, because that loss is used to offset profits made by the business. That is advantageous, because as a collector, you cannot offset profits on some coins with losses on others. There aren't many coins in which I'm buried, but there are some. For other collectors who might be very buried, this strategy could really pay off.

Naturally, I wrestle with selling coins to which I am particularly attached. Fortunately, my perspective has evolved to the point that everything now has its price, and I believe that every sale I make presents me with more opportunities to buy and learn about new issues.

This business is building slowly, and is intended to supplement my retirement income in about 20 years. Just as importantly, it will be a good vehicle for my family to dispose of my holdings after my eventual demise. I'm fortunate to have an offspring unit with a keen interest in US coins who can manage that, and perhaps even keep the business going long after I'm gone.

Best of luck to you.

I wish I had the time to offer that to someone because I would really enjoy it. But even if I did I don't have a relationship with any dealers out here in NC. When I lived in CA I had Mac's Coins in Sunnyvale. I was never a huge dollar customer but I consistently spent fivety bucks here, a hundred fivety there. And Dale always treated me like part of the shop. I never worried about getting ripped off. I even had a couple times he pointed something out on a coin I missed, "Did you see the small scratch behind Lincoln's ear? You may want to pick a different one."

In any event that guy constantly had huge projects he was working on, coins to sort, numbers to crunch, etc. He was always playing catch up and I would have loved to work for him for free just to learn and be around coins.

Best wishes on your new adventure, Jeff11.

And one nice thing is I'll bet you don't report that as income. At least no one around here reports anything sold or puchased at a flea market.