My Flea Market Expedition

Well this morning I woke up, had my coffee and decided to get ready for my expedition. I dressed appropriately for the big hunt that was awaiting me. I wore my favorite cap, my khaki pants, a long sleeve shirt and of course my most comfortable pair of shoes. I did not know what would lay ahead of me in this journey, so being comfortable was one of my main priorities. I also armed myself with the best weapons that I had available. My faithful 5x loupe, a 10x loupe, a few flips, my Redbook and of course my #1 sidearm or weapon, my smart phone. With my smartphone I can access ebay and other sites to gain an advantage of the true market value of a particular coin.
After driving for about 25 minutes, I arrived at my destination. I was pumped. I had to remind myself not to get "Buck fever". I had to calm myself down just a tad to be able to track my next find. I entered the location very cautsiously and very alert. I was focusing all my energy on finding that one big trophy. I walk around just a few feet when I saw something glaring at me from afar. I walked slowly, not to spook anyone and not allowing myself to be seen as too eager. As I got closer there it was. What is that? I am stumped. I have never seen anything like this before. I asked the vendor to please pull the item out of display case. As it came closer to me I saw that it was a Liberian $10.00 coin. I had never seen such a coin. I was completely caught off guard. The obverse had the picture of John F. Kennedy Jr. and on the reverse was where the date and country of origin was located. I examined the coin more closely and at first I thought it was a silver coin. Then I used all my gained knowledge from this forum and came to the conclusion that it must have been some type of clad or mixed material. I did some quick research and found out it was a copper nickle coin. I had guessed right. I scanned it using my loupe and found really no major defects. I had noticed one little small scratch on his hair and a few minute dark spots. I asked the vendor how much she was asking for this coin and stated she was asking $20.00 for it. I politely asked her how she had arrived at that price. (Personally I could not find anything on this coin except on ebay). She stated " I figure that since the coins face value is $10.00, I should double this in order to make profit". I just smiled and allowed her to finish her explanation. I then looked at the coin and set it aside. I asked her to please leave the coin out because I was still interested in the coin. I then proceeded to ask her if she had any other coins that I could look at. She walk behind her desk and opened the drawer and pulled out this most beautiful oak or mahagony jewelery box. When I saw that my heart started to race. She pulled out 2 Commemorative Coins. 1 Ronald Reagan and 1 G W Bush. Then behind that she pulls out this 1943s Mercury Dime. She hands them to me and asks if I was interested in these coins. I responded " Yes, Yes I am". At that moment I asked if she had anything else. She went back to that beautiful glistening box and pulls out a 1936 Buffalo Nickle. Then she returns hands it to me and tells me that she had been an accumulator for many years but because of her drunken son stealing some coins she only had a few left.
Some folks arrived and were inquiring about other purchases. She excused herself and told me to hang on and not to leave. I stayed put. I was still stumped about the Liberian coin which I had seen earlier and decided to take a photo using my trusty smartphone. I took the picture and saved it. I immediately placed a cry for help on this forum. I only had 2 responses. My superhero and counselor was the incredible VNICKLES. V did some quick research but came up empty handed. I explained to him that I had picked up these coins for about $20.00,I was sure I could give here at least that much for them. Vnickles stated that I spent a bit too much for these coins. One other member agreed with V.
The vendor came back and stated she had some more coins to show me. She pulled out 7 Barber Dimes. 1900,1905,1912,1913 x 2,1915, and lastly 1916. These coins are in G to Vg condition for the exeption of 1 which is Ag.
She then preceeded to tell me that since I had waited and she had met her goal for the day that she would let me have all the coins discussed for $20.00. Wow!! I didn't even have to make an offer or even seem as the bad guy. I asked her if she felt as though this was a good deal her. She stated smiling " I would not have offered these coins to you, young man, if I were not certain this deal was good for both". I asked again just to be sure and stated ok.
Before leaving this same lady told me to return next Saturday or Sunday because she was going to save me some coins that individuals sell her and she said she would give me the first opportunity to buy.
Successfull expedition? You be the judge.
Also any suggestions on grades and on this Liberian will certainly help. Grades will help me improve my grading skills and information on Liberian coin will help me with knowledge.
My opinion: Merc Au 50 something because of its luster and detail. Buffalo about the same Au something.
Again thanks for reading the post and will provide another detailed post about my next and upcoming EXPEDITION

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I bet you're excited to see what she might bring the next time, I would be.

 

I like the Merc and the Buffalo but I would have passed on the JFK coin. One sold on ebay for $12.50 but a number of them went unsold for under $10. I've done the same when there were coins I really liked and just wanted to have them. Instead of waiting and paying for shipping, I'd spend the extra few bucks and pick them up right there.

If you're happy with them in your collection, that's what counts.

You picked up all the Barbers as well?

 

Yep, Can't wait. In fact is it Saturday already.

 

I figured with the melt value alone on the Dimes, I should be a little ahead. Remember I have 7 Barber Dimes.

 

With the Barbers, I'd say you did good!

 

Thanks, I think its not a bad deal. What would you grade the Buffalo and the Merc. I venture to say Au but not sure which #

 

You're gonna have to wait for somebody else to help you out with that. I'm not that adept at grading.

 

Got it. I am not quite the expert yet. Have been trying to do my best and learn as much as I can. I use all the resources I can from here to gain that much needed exp. I am glad to find the help I need here. It allows me to double check myself. Again thanks for your response to this post.

 

Great story and great additions! Congrats!

 

Barber dimes-- common dates, low grades, maybe $2.25- $2.50 each, retail
Mercury dime-- Hard to tell if it has any wear. With wear (AU)-- Maybe $2.50. If it's Unc.-- $3.00-3.50 would be my guess
Buffalo nickel-- The most common date, and the reverse is pitted. I would guess 50 cents on that one.
Kennedy commemorative-- Copper-nickel, not even listed in my 2011 edition of the Standard Catalog of World Coins, so it's hard to put a value on that one but probably not more than $5 based on what I've read about it on other web sites.

So in terms of retail value you probably did OK, since the 8 dimes alone have a "melt value" of around $16 and a retail value that might exceed $20.

 

i
'ts amazing what turns up at flea markets, a few years ago i bought 10 george IV 5 cent banknotes from hong kong, in uncirculate condition for £1 only to find that coincraft in london were selling the same notes at £35 each. i still go to them whenever i can to see what gems turn up next.

 

The problem with buying numismatic stuff in Hong Kong, especially at flea markets, is that there is a LOT of fake material floating around there. If the UK value is £35 and the Hong Kong price is only £1, that would signal to me that the note might not be genuine.

 

i didn't buy the notes in hong kong, i bought them in liverpool. off a stall where they were the only numismatic items.

 

And even though the dealer was working a stall in the UK dedicated to numismatic items, the notes were still being sold at 1/35 the normal UK price? Even if it were in Liverpool and not Hong Kong, that would set off warning bells to me. For example, a few years ago I saw an 1803 US Bust half dollar in what appeared to be VF condition being offered for 80 Canadian dollars at a flea market in Vancouver, Canada, about 1/4 of the regular US price. I was very tempted to buy it, but upon closer examination I saw that it was an electrotype, and not a genuine specimen.

Have you had your note certified as genuine?

 

mate my notes are genuine, and as i said they were the ONLY numismatic items on the stall amongst teddy bears, spoons, etc etc i spoke to john mussell who edits coin news magazine and he verified the notes as genuine. i kept one item for my collection and sold the others at a very nice premium. what i am saying is that bargains can be had at flea markets, and the only coins that are sold at them in the uk that are way above value are the crowns, eg: churchill, anniversary of coronation, because people who are not collectors think that they are worth a lot of money......

 

There are bargains to be had if you look hard at flea markets. Some people don't know what they have, while others have done some research and price their stuff way too high. You just have to be careful. I go to flea markets quite bit when the weather is decent. I actually have a couple favorite vendors at one place who treat me right, and are willing to look for what I want.

 

i will be going to my local flea market next wednesday, last time i picked up a superb set of WW2 zinc occupation coins from western europe........

 

ld-guy-smile:

Whoops-- You wrote "where they were the only numismatic items" and my eyes translated that as "where there were only numismatic items".
Looks like I'll have to pay a visit to the eye doctor :bangg:

 

who's bothered? everyone can make mistakes although the notes were a very nice little earner for me lol