Stroll down Memory Lane: Best Deal You got from a B&M dealer

My local guy has junk boxes/bargain bins that I ALWAYS look through when there.
My best deal was 4 (2 each P&D) 1982 US Mint souvenir sets that I picked up for a couple of bucks each.
Downside was that the envelopes had been crudely torn open.
Upside is that these sets routinely sell on eBay for at least $50 and usually more.

 

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Sorry, you lost me at "B&M Dealer". Is that a cut-rate car dealership or something?

 

Brick and mortar. A coin shop.

 

B&M = Brick & Mortar coin shop. A real location as opposed to a cyber-store.
I thought that it would be clear from the context of the post.
Why would a car dealer sell coins?

 

Unfortunately, I don't think that I've ever walked out of a coin shop feeling as though I got a "good" deal. I feel pretty lucky if I can get anything for what I consider fair market value.

 

Geezer... you can replace the envelopes. eBay is full of that kind of stuff.

Nice buy! The washingtons are worth a nice premium if they're nice!

 

I bought 3 sets of German mint sets from my local dealer for melt value (about $20 each). Their actual value was closer to $100 each.

 

I recently (within the last 5 years) bought a 42 Proof Jefferson Type I (still have it) for $25 because he had paid only $12 for it just hours before. The coin has a nice cameo contrast to it and I have always toyed with having it TPG'd to see if it would get a CAM designation.

 

Nice! I would love to see that nickel. The cams are super tough to find.

 

I'll never understand why some knock B&Ms so much. Considering most B&Ms are general dealers, this can allow for opportunities if you think outside the box. Just as you will not get far trying to variety pick a guy who specializes in them, there is little reason expect surface deals from a guy selling storefront retail.

 

We're losing our B+M's left and right. I think we're down to four now from about ten about 5 years ago.

Gold and silver buyers are popping up all over and the remaining B+M's are doing the same thing, foregoing collectible coins almost all together.

It basically sucks because, I used to love spending a few hours going through the bins and albums.

 

My local dealer has great prices on junk silver (usually only 10¢-20¢ over spot) and he lets me cherrypick. Here is a list of nice(r) things I've gotten out of junk silver there:
1. 1920 SLQ- VF-30

2. 1982-S Washington Comm. Proof

3. 1964-D Kennedy with rainbow toning

And some other stuff I didn't have pics of.

 

gbroke approves this Half.

 

You'd be better served if you chose new shops or, perhaps, honed your negotiating skills.

 

The best buy I've had recently at a B&M shop was an 1848-O Small Date quarter (VG-8, but holed) from a silver junk bin for $12. If it wasn't holed, I probably would never have gotten my hands on it. That was at a "We Buy Gold" place. The biggest coin shop by me doesn't do much at all with foreign coins or medals, although I've had a few good finds in their 10/$1 bin. Back in February, I found about 2 dozen Imperial German 10 Pfennigs in there (1890-1918) and a 50mm skydiving medal (Kobenhavns Faldskaermsklub).

A couple shops by me are ridiculous on their prices. Two don't even have 'junk' bins, so there's no chance to pick up something that the dealer hasn't already inflated a price on. I went to each shop once, asked about a few of the things I collect (US Philippine coins, medals, tokens, foreign coins) and left after getting blank looks. I guess they're decent places to go if you want to pay 20% over wholesale on a high-grade Morgan or buy custom Whitman holders, but you need to bring a long spoon to come out ahead in any of those transactions.

 

bought 3 or 4 boxes of old tubes and books for $30 or $40 and there was a tube full of mercs and a few other silver coins as well as stamp books, pick catalogs, world coin catalogs etc. I sold most of the stamp stuff for what I paid for the lot.