Coin Show etiquette.. any advice?

I like everything you posted. It is also: treat others as you would want to be treated... I always try to look at everything from the OTHER person's perspective. That said, I have been out of "Moderns" or US collecting for 30 years. However, I have been collecting Ancients for around 25 years... I find #4 and #15 are not as applicable for Ancients collecting. There are no real "price guides" in Ancients, other than historical Auction hammers and/or Dealer prices listed on sites. And the handling aspect: virtually every Ancients Dealers at shows or their shops HAND you their coins OUT of flips, etc. Ancient coins are not really affected by normal handling.

Every Ancient that I have purchased face-to-face were always handled without gloves, etc.

Here are a couple that I bought face-to-face at shows - and we handled the coins during our discussions / transactions:


RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus Janus 225-215 BCE Cr 28-3 Sear 31


RR Anon AR Heavy Quinarius Drachm Half Quadrigatus 225-212 BCE 3.1g 18mm Janus Jupiter in Quadriga L Victory ROMA Cr 28-4 S 35 SCARCE

 

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Define “flash”. If I am unsure about the going rate of a coin, I will pull out a price guide for my personal use. I don’t try to be flamboyant about it.

 

I agree , I have had customers do that to me at shows as Mike Drop suggests , if turned in they would be asked to leave the show . Also, dealing in the aisles, dragging their bag around is prohibited at our coin shows , if you wish to sell, rent a table , go to a coin store , sell on line or see a buyer at a coffee shop but not at a coin show where tables range from $ 50 to $ 400 ++.

 

You've got a lot of great advice in this thread, but one thing I'll add is that I definitely recommend introducing yourself and having a discussion about your collecting interests with dealers you encounter if time permits. If a dealer asks you to sign a receipt, write your collecting interests and email or phone number on it even if not asked(I usually put "[name] RR bronze/silver email"). I've been able to purchase some excellent RR bronzes over the past few years simply because I've gotten to know the dealers I frequent both online and at shows and many of them know the sort of collection I'm trying to build and that I regularly buy bronzes.

There's one dealer that has no online presence but is still willing to email me pictures of RR bronzes he gets in every few months and even a few Vcoins dealers who regularly notify me that coins will be going up on Vcoins in a few hours and occasionally the coins are the sort of rarities that probably would have been snapped up by others had I not known when to look for them.

 

Mikey, chill, take a deep breath! We're learning about you too!

When you write something, before you hit the "post reply" button, reread your post to be sure you are conveying your intended comment.

 

Always expect sword play from Zorro.

 

I think people slightly overreacted and misunderstood. I wasnt a pocket vest dealer and I wasnt activily searching for buyers or sellers. I was simply asking people if they are willing to sell to me what they did not sell to a dealer. I (sorta) understand your concern. If you find this immoral, I'm sorry. Its what I do occasionally and once I get kicked out for doing it, maybe Ill learn my lesson.

 

Also add ,Never place a personal item Coat, bag or other items on the dealers table next to the one you are talking to , this is very rude and you will be told about it..

 

...or in the case of a true national show, much more. There is only ONE major show where this kind of behavior is semi-tolerated - Baltimore Whitman. The placement of so many big round tables outside the bourse floor almost invites off-the-floor dealing, and I see a fair bit of it there.

 

Not expecting much; we'll see. Your age may be working in your favor.

 

Explain what you mean.

 

Nah, calm down. I took your first post (as apparently others did too) as saying you would start to counteroffer a seller at a dealer's table. You have made plain that that is not what you meant. I was at a show on Sunday and saw many people trying to sell coins to the dealers. If I saw something I wanted, I would possibly approached the seller after he left the dealer's table. Doing it on the floor of the sale might get awkward because of the limited space.

 

Youngsters are cut TREMENDOUS amounts of slack, by everyone at a show.

 

I wasnt aware of such unspoken rules. suppose now I do

 

If you are representing this exchange accurately -- i.e., you overheard an offer from a seller that was refused by the dealer/buyer -- then I personally don't think it's rude or unethical to offer that seller his asking price, or negotiate a price with him.

Of course it's rude and unethical to get involved in a private negotiation between a seller and a dealer, but if that negotiation failed, I don't see a problem with approaching the seller.

 

Decorum requires "taking it elsewhere", a food court, a rest area, etc. Even there, SOME shows look down upon the practice.

 

Alrighty. Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen. I now pronouce this meeting adjourned.

 

... or "adjourned", even.

"We know a thing or two, because we've SEEN a thing or two."

 

This made me chuckle because even if I am traveling and just need to use the restroom at a convenience store I still buy a drink or something. I too find a need to buy something if I have used up some of the dealers time! I feel guilty if I don't.

 

Of course -- that was implicit in my reply.