Conflicted - Need Advice On Local Dealer

In an age where everyone knows the "value" or "list price" of everything sold many dealers try to get that fictional dollar. I sold antiques for 40 years probably doubling my money on most and still sold below retail or book value. Most of my sales went to other dealers who later made an additional profit for themselves.

I would go back and just talk to him, the stories would be worth more than the Morgans to me. But I am one of those guys when I was a kid I would walk down the street to the old man sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair and just introduce myself and talk to him until my mom would call me in. I find all their life stories fascinating and only wish I had a coin dealer around me that I could visit and talk about the good ol days with even though I would be only listening mostly because I have only been collecting about 6-7 years and am only 41 years old but still love sitting and talking with the elderly because they seem to remember things that happened 70 years ago better than they do what happened yesterday and they remember it in every detail where you can just imagine it happening as they are telling you the story

I see all the time where collectors brag about deals that a dealer would be pilloried for buying. That's a big double standard, as far as I'm concerned.

There's a little different situation here, tho, for a couple reasons.

First, the seller chose the price. Most of the people have reckonized that it's essentially no different than cherrypicking a dealer for varieties he didn't know about, or the time I bought a 1921 peace for $4.50 at an auction because the auctioneer didn't mention the type as well as the date.

Second, even if the collector made the offer, there's a legal issue in play. When someone holds themself out as having knowledge in a field (a coin dealer who has had a store for years would certainly fit the bill), the law assumes that the expert owes it to the non-expert not to use his knowledge to take advantage of him. OTOH, the non-expert, if he ends up with a fantastic deal, is assumed to have just been lucky.

A coin dealer who buys acid-treated buffalos as vf has no one to blame but himself. This law clearly applies here.

The only thing the OP has done wrong is he should have bought every coin in the bucket before the next customer in the door did, then come here and ask if he owed the guy a steak dinner, and what cut.

If he dies next week, his kids will cheerfully sell them to whoever offers the most money.

About six months ago, I talked with an elderly Jewish man who went from concentration camp survivor to multi-millionaire. He sold one of his general stores and kept two others. He said he could sell the one 20 miles down the road, but "at my age, what's another million?"

I see where he died about a week ago at 89. Good luck, Freddy, you fought the good fight, and won!

Not possible...read the OP's follow up...it turned out quite well

I cant agree more that would be like trashing a work of art......

Just bought the entirety of the bucket for $25 a piece.

Thanks for the tip.

Just kidding.

Business ethics wins out again. There's hope for humanity.