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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,793 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1353 Posts |
I will be going to a coin show later this month. I would like to do some cherry picking.There are about 40 dealers there so it would be hard to look at all there inventory. My questions for help on is:
Which coin is the most over looked coin to go after?
Which coin is easiest to identify?
Which coins would be the best bang for the buck to look for?
I am excluding coins that are under graded because that is a normal part of my looking for coins.
Looking forward to all suggestions.
Thanks
Murty
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2602 Posts |
Wow, that's really a tough question to answer. BAsically my advice is to go after series that you like most and/or have most knowledge in. Pick up the appropriate Cherrypicker's guide for that series and then target that series. Next year target a different coin type or series.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1424 Posts |
see what each dealer specializes in and look through everything else they have.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1353 Posts |
Thanks guys.
No other ideas?
I need to narrow my search at the show.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
Agree with the CherryPickers Guide. Just as an example, in the summer of 2009 I went to a local dealer after reading the guide about Morgan and Peace dollars. They had about 75-80 of these in their common bin at $16/each to the public (I paid $15/each). I found two VAM's for Peace dollars that I recognized right away. I sent them off to NGC, and when I got them back I was able to sell them to a local dealer for $500+ for one, and $150-ish for the other. My total cost including grading fees and shipping was about $35-40 per coin. The best part about it is the owner of the store asked me what I was doing, and I told him looking for specific characteristics and dates. He got cocky and told me they had already gone through them at that I wasnt going to find anything of value...lol. This is the same dealer that put an 1899-P Morgan in his $18 Morgan dollar tray (I bought this too not knowing the actual value - I just bought all their $18 Morgans that day pretty much sight unseen). So with a little effort and alot of luck, you can find some gems in there. Good luck! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1353 Posts |
Appreciate the feedback...I have the Cherrypickers guides;would be too tacky too take with me,and too many to remember. I am looking for easier way to cherrypick at the show.
Are Morgans the best way to go?
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I always head for the nickel albums. I look for the major varieties. I look for well struck nickels that have step details where that date and mint normally does not and from here on out I am going to be looking at the reverses of the 1939 nickels for TY 1 and TY 2 steps.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Questions like yours comes up frequently and my best answers are usually the same. Your basically asking questions like who should I marry, what car should I buy, which house should I buy and when, what stocks in the stock market should I purchase. All such questions are really tuff to answer since in this or any hobby, everyone has different tastes and goals for their collections. Some want coins for investing, some for just fun, some for both, some for a start of a family tradition and on and on with reasons. As to cherry picking, that too is rather difficult since you don't yet know who will be there and what they have. You may prefer to dig for Nickels and none of the dealers there would have even one Nickel. Sounds rediculous but until your there, you never know. Quote:
Which coin is the most over looked coin to go after?
Which coin is easiest to identify?
Which coins would be the best bang for the buck to look for?
Which coin is most over looked? The one you need the most.  Which coin is the easiest to identify? Depends on the lighting, set up on the table, the ones hidden under others. Which ones are the best bang for the buck? Easy. A 1909S VDB in MS-65, graded and slabbed by PCGS for about $10. Same with a 1916D Mercury dime. Myself, I keep looking for a real Copper 1943 Cent, a 1894S Liberty Head Dime for about that same $10 range too. If you do run accross a roll of 1913 Liberty Head Nickels, let me know and I'll buy a few from you.  I suggest you just go there with the same expectations as if you were going to a flea market or Walmart store. Look around, take your time, enjoy the place for what it is. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2120 Posts |
I agree with "Look around, take your time, enjoy the place for what it is."
If you spend your time trying to find all the missed deals you'll just get stressed out.
I'd say learn about a handful of things you want to look for and as you wander from table to table, look for those, and anything thats pops out to you. bring your book but keep it hidden, I always like to have a small backpack on me, and if you see something that makes you take a pause, look it up, discretely.
A lot of picks can be made on the easy stuff. I always have a short list of keys and semi keys.
Also, Having a smart phone is really nice. on my iPhone I keep all my list, books etc in PDF/Word format so when I want to check something, it's not as obvious.
Have fun at your show. take your time and enjoy it.
What show might I ask? Portland?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1353 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
366 Posts |
If you are just starting out cherrypicking, it is hard to know the varieties in the cherrypicker's guide, but it might be good to memorize those that are in a series you like. As for the most obvious, I would say proofs missing mintmarks. You might try looking at higher grade coins because the details are more obvious on them (but more obvious to the dealers too). There are errors and varieties on most years and denominations, so you could try and look through every coin at the show (no one said cherrypicking was easy!), but I would stick to a series to begin with. Happy pickings!
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Replies: 10 / Views: 2,793 |
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Posted 10/11/2010 4:58 pm
