Coin Show Etiquette
Coin Show Etiquette & Helpful Hints
Coin Show Etiquette
COIN SHOW ETIQUETTE
By Buddy Hirsh & Tony Swicer
Everyone has their own approach to buying and selling coins. Some people are very good at transactions, some are lousy. The following are some thoughts on the subject.
SELLING- As a dealer behind the table, I always like to greet everyone who comes to my table, it breaks the ice. Asking what you are looking for saves both of us time and needless looking. I always try to sell at a fair price. Some dealers look to make a killing on every coin. It’s up to you to know current pricing, if not you will get buried in a coin.
BUYING- When you are buying from a dealer at a show, you should be professional. Don’t sprawl your briefcase and papers all over the dealers cases so that no one can see anything. Do not bring a drink to a dealers table. I have had drinks knocked over on my case before. When you are looking at a dealers coins, do not take the coins out of the dealers sight. Do not put them below the table or behind your back, and do not go into your pockets while at the table. Dealers likewise should not put the customers coins out of the sight of the customer. Never take coins away from the table without the dealers permission. If you take a set of coins away from the table and a coin winds up missing, guess who is a suspect. Any purchases made at another dealers table should be put away before you look at coins at the next dealers table. Don’t give the dealer the idea that you are trying to switch coins or stealing coins. Never go behind a dealers table without asking permission to do so. Never cut between dealers tables to get to the next isle. Go around like everyone else.
Don’t dicker on the price of a coin just for the sake of dickering. Once the dealer learns your MO, he will up the starting price on every coin and get what he wants anyway. Don’t whine and tell the dealer what is wrong with every coin. Either buy the coin, counter offer, or go on to the next item. If you give the dealer a hard time, I guarantee you that when he gets nice coins for sale, you will be the last to see them, if at all. Don’t linger at a dealers table when he is buying or selling a big deal. If a dealer is busy with a customer, don’t butt in, walk away. Never try to steal a deal away from a dealer in front of his table. If you do not have a table, you must go outside to transact business with others that do not have a table. No transacting in the isles. Don’t let a dealer try to bully you into buying a coin and vise versa.
A line that won’t work at a coin show might work at a gun or antique show. Here’s an example. A dealer has a coin set that catalogs $300. He might want $150-200. At a coin show, the melt value is irrelevant, but at a gun show you could ask, “ what’s the melt value on that set?” and get it for melt, $50.
If you want to look at something in a dealers case, always ask permission. It always seems that an open case draws flies, if you know what I mean. In time you will learn who the higher priced dealers are, and avoid them. If you feel that the dealer has over graded a coin give it back and walk away. Save yourself time and aggravation. Never take a coin out of it’s holder without asking permission.
When you are buying at a show you should ask the dealer if he will take your check. Most dealers will take a check if you can give them a coin dealer reference. Virtually no dealer will take a credit card at a show. The easiest form of payment is always cash. Any way that you purchase a coin, always get a receipt on a hundred dollars or more purchase. That way, it is easily returnable if it is counterfeit. Do not remove the coin from the dealers holder until you have bought it and you are absolutely satisfied with the coin.
If you are not sure of the grade on a coin, ask the dealer if you can show the coin to someone else for an opinion. Try not to use the other dealers name that you are showing the coin too. If I am shown a coin, I hate to ruin a deal for another dealer, then I’m the bad guy. If another dealer tells you not to buy the coin, don’t go back to the dealer who owns the coin and say, “Tony said it was a piece of junk”. Just give the coin back and say, “No thank you”, and leave.
The bottom line is, if you act professional in your coin transactions, you will get a better deal, you will get first look at new coins, and everyone will be happy(and that’s a good thing).
source Formerly featured as a club newsletter It is still available in PDF format Here Via Tampa Coin Club
Buddy Hirsh is on the Board Of Directors for the Palm Beach Coin Club.
Tony Swicer Is President of the Palm Beach Coin Club. He has also served on the FUN Board for five years. He was FUN Vice-President for 2 years and was recently elected President of F.U.N. in March of 2011. He continues to serve as FUN Club Liaison and writes a monthly newsletter to all Florida FUN member clubs.
Helpful Hints For Collectors & FUN Show Guests
HELPFUL HINTS
By Tony Swicer
1. Carry a grey sheet to the coin show, not a Red Book. Make sure the dealer you are dealing with see’s the grey sheet. You will probably get a better price.
2. On an expensive coin, it is acceptable to bargain on the price. After all, dealers haggle over prices all the time.
3. Always use a magnifying glass when buying a coin.
4. If you get quotes on coins over the phone, ask a local dealer what his price is. Ask before you buy, you can save a lot of head aches and money.
5. Don’t use tape on coins.
6. For bulk coins use rolls, either paper or plastic tubes. Cardboard 2X2’s do not make a coin worth more money.
7. Coins that are black, corroded, and other wise damaged should not be saved.
8. Don’t clean a coin just to make it shiny. Dipping should only be done on coins with mint luster under the toning. Heavily circulated coins should not be cleaned.
9. If cleaning is necessary, the least harmful cleaner is acetone. Second ammonia, and finally a dip like jeweluster. Use a cotton swab with the first two.
10. What makes a coin rare? Low mintage combined with a low survival rate, high quality, and demand for the item.
11. TV, printed media, and telemarketers will push modern coinage in certified holders grading MS or PR-69 & MS or PR-70. Therefore, some people are under the misconception that these coins are valuable. The fact is, that most modern coins all grade 69 or 70 because of the modern technology used to mint coins today. If everything minted will grade 69 or 70, then that is the accepted norm. There is no need to pay more for these coins when they are average grades for the series. If you purchase a 500 count box of silver eagles still sealed from the mint, 55% will grade MS-69, and 45% will grade MS-70. Anything else is not the norm.
12. Be aware of thousands of fake coins coming out of China. Most fakes are under the standard weight. Silver coins are usually plated silver on brass. Many of these fakes show up at your local flea market for bargain prices, if they were real.
13. There are two separate coin markets in our country. One market is the traditional coin market where you go to coin shops, coin clubs, and coin shows and bid at auctions. Then, there is the online market such as e-bay. Buyers and sellers get together worldwide. The traditional market has been around for years with a set structure such as a Grey Sheet to know wholesale and retail pricing. We have a guiding governing body, the ANA and dealer organization PNG. If there is a problem, we can usually fix it. Most dealers are professional.
With the online market you have anyone under the sun putting items up for sale, many times with no clue of the value or authenticity. There is virtually no one to police the internet. The server doesn’t police fakes well. How do you get your money back from China when the coin is fake?
I call online trading the “Final Frontier”. If you can’t get your money for an item there, then there is no where else to go. Here’s an example, If a coin sells online for $15, in the traditional market it may sell for $10. So, if you buy online, don’t expect to sell the item in the traditional market for a profit.
14. Numismatic items not made by the US Mint are generally called novelty items and they are of little value. A 4oz silver piece that looks like US currency, large silver items that resemble a US coin, such as a silver eagle, and “Tribute coins” that are reproductions are examples of Novelty items. They are not collected by most coin collectors.
15. The Grey Sheet has a “ Bid” and “Ask”. Bid is generally thought of as the price a dealer some where in the country is willing to pay for that specific coin. The Ask is what a dealer is willing to sell for. Very rare coins can sell over bid and ask. Very common coins can sell well below bid, such as proof sets and mint sets, which are plentiful. The grey sheet is a guide!!!!
16. If you are at a flea market or garage sale, and you are looking at silverware, it must be hallmarked with the magic word “Sterling” or “.925”. If neither of these two terms is on the item, then there is a 99% chance the item is silver-plated and worthless.
17. An item marked .999 silver, 10 MIL, is plated. Anything with “ MIL” in the title is plated.
18. To get the latest price of gold and silver, go to Kitco
19. To figure out what dealers should be paying on 90% silver coin, take spot silver X .715. Example; silver at $47 oz. X .715 = 33.6 X face = melt. Now allow .5 off, and you can get 33.1 X face from the dealer.
20. Florida coin dealers are generally easier to deal with than dealers from the northeast. You can generally get a cheaper price on a coin. I always found that I could deal easier in the mid-west and west vs. the east. The east is very competitive.
21. At a coin show, you cannot assume that the price a dealer quotes you is a fair price. You had better know what the value is before you buy it. Example: A customer buys a note at a recent show for $1200. He assumes this is a fair price, when in reality the note bids for $475. He over paid $725.
22. When buying early copper coins, such as Lincoln cents, Indian cents, and Large cents, if you are spending hundreds of dollars, buy the coin slabbed PCGS or NGC. If you buy an early large cent for $1000, you are asking for trouble unless it is certified. Ask yourself, why isn’t the coin certified? Probably because it won’t certify.
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