first coin show..any tips?

It sounds like you had a terrific show and I am quite happy for you!

 

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yea, i can't blame the lady. its really hard to trust people, and with all the coins and coin supplies they had, i am betting this is there full time job. i got my 100 flips from them even after the comment. i wanted them to know that i am there to buy coins for my collection, not steal them for whatever reason.

the guy that gave me the deal on the morgan had a real nice, graded cc morgan. i put off buying it this month, but next month i plan on getting one. even if he don't have that exact one, i want to buy one from him because of how nice he was.

i was talking to this one guy who goes through rolls and does whatever he can to acquire wheat cents. he then goes around and sells them by roll to dealers. his best offer was $1.70 a roll. i was so surprised on how many wheats he had! i was expecting a few boxes at the most. he made 3 trips in on this cart that was stacked with boxes about 4 foot high!

lunch is finally here, i will get pictures when i am done and post them!

 

Excellent report! Sounds like you had a blast. Thanks for sharing!

If a dealer treats me nice, I am more inclined to spend my money with them even if they might charge a little more then an unfriendly dealer.

 

Coin shows are probably the greatest place to buy coins and learn about them. Also, occationally a great place to buy coin products such as 2x2's, books, albums, etc. Around me there are 4 coin shows a Month within 15 miles of where I live and I try to go to at least 2 or more a Month. One is usually about 60 to 100 dealers each Month. Others are a little smaller. All are free admission, free parking.
One individual mentioned having a back pack. At some crowded shows a person with those are REQUESTED to take them off and carry them or leave the show. The reason is most larger coin shows are crowded and a back pack tends to hit people all over the place. If sitting at a table, they are in the aisles and again, people bump them continously. At shows I've gone to many people have gone to security and requested individuals with a back pack be told to leave.

 

Carl,

I carry a bag with me when I go to shows. If you bring any kind of research material or coins to swap you'll be glad you did. I am cognizant of it and where I put it. But I feel at a show it is like a billfold and have grown to need it like that too.
Maybe the crowed shows should get a little larger room and better air conditioning instead of making us feel crowded

 

i got a few pictures, my camera died before i could get my morgan, so its charging now.

i really need to learn how to get better pictures. i know my camera can do it, its just me.






and the rip..


what looks to be a scratch by the "Y" is just hair from my dog i did not notice(she is shedding). imo, the walker is beautiful and well worth the cheap price. it seems to have all the detail and has all its luster, the pics really do it no justice. there is about 2-3 dings on it, not bad ones though. they look like bag marks?

i am still a little iffy on the mint set, i wanted to get one that had everything perfect and they are not valuable anyway but the rip bothers me. i still am happy and like it though.

he had the walker marked as au, but other then the 2 dings, i cant find anything wrong with it?

 

What you need is a tripod. Or a stable surface to place the camera on when shooting pictures of your coins. That will improve your shooting ability quite a bit, and allow you to fine-tune your focusing and zooming.

 

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a tripod has been on my want list for a long time, i just always say i am going to order one but always forget. its time, i am going to get one right now.

 

Do not feel to bad about the pictures Panda. When I first started taking pictures of certain bars of my collection, my pictures where not that great either. I agree with Ltrain about the tripod because once I bought a tripod, that made a difference for me. I use a "mini-tripod" that you can put on a table and that helps me to take close-up pictures of coins. I am not perfect on taking pictures but it takes time to take good pictures. Once you have the right equipment and gain more experience of taking coin pictures, then you will be fine IMO.

I am happy for you that you were able to find something that you wanted at your first coin show. Going to coin shows is always fun IMO. I feel like a kid in a candy shop when I go to a coin show.

 

thanks, and i posted it in this thread that i knew there was someone on here that liked '70's silver bars.

i don't know if its common or what but a guy had a table labeled for "1970's silver art bars". he had a ton of them and i thought "wow, that guy on cointalk would love this"!

i have it narrowed down to a few different tripods. there is a bunch of new tv shows i want to see tonight, so i will order after they get over.

 

Yep you are correct. I am that guy that loves to collect '70's silver art bars. To be fair, there are also other silver art bar collectors that are on CoinTalk besides me.

Good luck in getting the tripod that is right for you. You will see a big difference in your pictures. If your camera has a "macro function" on it, then that will also help in getting details of your coin. The Macro Function is the little "flower" symbol on your digital camera.

 

yea, i have macro turned on.

i have another camera i tried to take pictures with, but when i turn macro on and take the picture something aint right. when i look at the picture, its like moving around a little? its weird like an animated .gif or something..

 

It's tough to take good images of coins. The 1988 US Mint Set looks fine since the coins are more important than the packaging and it also isn't all that unusual to find the packaging slightly abused since it is only paper. The WLH is AU as advertised, but the price paid was quite fair.

 

My apology for mistakenly thinking that your macro was not turned on. I stand corrected. Once you get the tripod, then the macro effects will be more noticeable and will become more clearer. I could be wrong on this but I think that when you try to take a picture with the macro turned on without a tripod to stabilize and reduce movement of the camera, then it will have that "animated .gif" effect.

EDIT: I agree with TomB that it is hard to take pictures of coins (and bars) especially silver because the lighting has to be right to get the "true look" of the silver coin or bar. Taking pictures inside is a tougher task IMO. I like to take pictures outside because it is easier to get the "true look" of a silver coin or bar.

 

I would not worry about the envelope at all. And you did get 20% off for it

 

Now this is just me. Everybody has their own principles. If I sit down at a table and look through an album and find nothing I really like, I'll buy something anyway. Take a couple old small coins for a few bucks.

If I'm taking up some vendors real estate I'm blocking the road for another customer. Dealers have to eat too. So if I don't find anything I'm interested in, I'll take something and leave them with a few dollars for taking up their time.

Sure there's no rule you have to. The customer is king. That said, the coin world dealer population is not that high and you'll run into the same dealers at shows often. You don't want the reputation as the guy who's going to ask your space and time and leave you empty handed. They will be less likely to want to deal with you on prices later when you do want something. And also, don't forget, dealers compare notes too. Again, reputation. Most people would rather take $5 to put towards their overhead then nothing.

 

I'll hopefully be going to my first coin show on Saturday. This thread's been very helpful

 

Sunday will be my second, and first in about 15 years.

 

This will help me a lot too! I find that most dealers/store owners are suspicious of my as well, but I guess that's just because of the times we live in lol. Once I smile and start a conversation they usually seem to become more relaxed

 

Djaeon, a group of about 6 of us are coming from the desert to the San Diego Show also. Currently planned for Saturday unless some have to work, then Sun. Best of luck!

Jim