Coin Shop Experience

I've sold coins over ebay from time to time but never to a brick and mortor shop. Feeling hungary from my Atlantic City experience I wanted to get some more action. Of all places I ended up in the cornfields of Iowa. I had some money with me but not quite what I felt comfortable getting in a big game with. So of course at the last second I grab a few slabs and threw them in my bag.

I ended up taking about 6 slabs with me to include an 1806 draped bust half, a 3 dollar gold piece, and a 1942/1 merc dime which I found in a roll. 3 hours after my flight landed I was on the phone with Casey from Casey's Coin in Cedar Falls Iowa.

I don't have much experience with haggling serious coin dealers so this was my game plan. I called him and asked him what percentage of greysheet he pays on PCGS slabbed coinage. I feel like this question kind of caught him off guard and he muttered 75%.

Let me tell you his shop was nice. Everything was dress right dress. Quite a bit of 2x2's, gold seperated from silver coinage, supplies on the left hand side of the store. Lots of scales. I practically fainted when I walked in.

We immediately got down to business. He seemed surprised when I told him that I submitted my own coins. We got off to a rocky start when he told me that one of my CBH's was overgraded. I said who cares it's a 65 dollar coin.

All in all I had about 4k in coins numismatic value and was hoping to get out of there with 3800. I believe he first quoted me a price of 2k. We haggled quite a bit and we both reluctantly settled on a price of 3k. In total I believe when I calculated it I ended up getting a 71% of greysheet value, and about 67% return on investment minus the 1942/1 merc.

The trip ended very nice and I plan on focusing my attention on Franklins (didn't part with any) from here on out.



I'd like to hear some of your B+M experiences.

~Jason

 

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I have a great shop that I frequent on a regular basis. I took an 1870 IHC MS62RB coin in and he offered me $250. I scoffed, laughed and walked out, selling it on ebay that night for $700. Needless to say, I wont be taking in any more of my coins I will plan on selling. I know most dealers are in this to make a profit, but I wont let them make 300% profit at my expense. Had he offered $450, I probably would have sold it to him.

 

About the worst B&M experience I ever had was my own fault. I was travelling and the people we were visiting were having a tight spell. I kinda wanted to leave some cash to give them a hand before we left, but generally pay my way with plastic. I had a couple Krands and a ML in a bezel, so I called a few stores for their gold "buy" quotes. Learning these guys want to make the monthly nut on a single transaction was an eye opener, but I found one guy who was realistic with the numbers. Got there and made a deal for the ML. He immediately lowered his quote, because it wasn't MS condition. Not realizing that bullion mattered that much, I made up the difference by tossing in the bezel. I felt I was losing a couple hundred more than I should have, but agreed.

Then they hand me a check and tell me that it has to be deposited in my account !! What kinda crook is this ? So I had sold GOLD, took a stranger's check in an out of state place and didn't have the cash to do what I wanted with in the first place !

I finally got home ran the check through my bank and got my money 2 weeks later.

All I gotta say is; "No fool like an old fool". I didn;t get to do what I wanted to do. Lost a few hundred on the sale of the ML, and processed the transaction with a paper trail to boot ! I had to agree with my wife when she called me an idiot ! I sure acted like one.

Gary

 

My only question to you is this, "Do you gamble?". Wouldn't it be disappointing to sell you coins and lose the money at the craps table?

Amanda

 

Tim is a great Guy I've been dealing with him for years! I have never sold to him though other than some scrap gold. Sounds like you did pretty good! I haven't been in the shop for a few weeks
The worst experience I had was at jacks coins in evansdale when he low balled me on my 1839 O reverse of 38 half dime it was in 2005 and he tried buying it from me when I took it to him for an appraisal in other words NFS and he tried getting it from me for the low price of 50 dollars...
Cody

 

Although the question was directed at the OP, I am going to answer. Gambling or gaming is done in many various forms. Some buy stocks or PMs, some purchase real estate and leverage the equity. I admit that I have attempted to do all of the above and have lost great amounts of money in each of them at one time or another.

It's absolutely awful to buy gold at $700 an ounce and need to sell it at $325, or to buy 10,000 shares of a stock at $40 only to see it fall to $15 in a year. Or to find that the property valued at $400,000 cannot be given away for free and taxes still need to be paid.

Honestly, my greatest return on an investment has come from legal sports bets. But as with everything else, you do your homework, research, take the wisest option and hope for the best ! Although, I shun horse racing (19% vigorish), Craps (1.47%) Blackjack (2.3%) and Slots (15%) for entertainment only. Sports betting, one can allow the Casino book to take their fees. You only need to beat the spread 52.4% of the time to break even. When you manage to have a 60% season record or better, you can afford hobbies like numismatics.

Life is fraught with danger, and we all "gamble". And when people gamble, someone will lose. We've seen how an entire nation can lose by banks gambling with their depositor's money. But to assume the OP will lose is a defeatist attitude. There are those who do profit. But don't think it's easy. To succeed at anything generally requires a lot of effort. Even Rock Stars constantly rehearse. There are professional gamblers, just as there are people who make a living at medicine, or education, construction, on and on. The OP may have bought these coins for speculation too, and it was time to sell. Not everyone loses.

Just sayin'

Gary

 

While it is unfortunate you had to sell to some one you did not know & that it was not local to you, there are very few dealers who will pay you out thousands in cash. There are anti money laundering plans that have to be followed by most legit places & they /we have rules on how payment is issued along with personal bookeeping issues for the businesses. Checks for amount over $500 are standard IMO with about every dealer I worked with.

 

Jason, I would say you were lucky. Many of the shops in Iowa, (if they are still around), would make all of their money off of buying and would try to buy at less than 50 cents on the dollar. I believe since you knew the language and knew the prices you did well.

I am not saying that shop is bad, (I believe that since Ccielsielski vouches for them they must be a good one), but especially in rural areas I find shops to offer very low prices. I grew up in DM so I think I have a right to call ALL of Iowa a rural place.

If you don't know what you are doing, its extremely easy to get fleeced in this hobby unfortunately.

 

Wow what a jip. Grey sheet is usually the price dealers pay for coins, and he offered you 25% less of that.

I think you would of been much better of selling them on eBay, IMO.

In my perspective, a coin dealer is a person who buys coins, to sell to collectors. He makes a percentage on being the "middle man".

Nothing wrong with that, but if your expecting top dollar, use eBay. Your % loss will be no more than 15% when it's all said and done.

I think brick and mortar coin dealers are becoming a thing of the past. It cost me over $15 in fuel just to see one, let alone buy anything.

 

I would disagree Detecto. I don't know of many dealers who pay greysheet unless its an exceptional coin and they already know they have 5 buyers they can sell to and make a quick profit.

Dealers have expenses and need to eat. I never begrudge them that. I only get grumpy around the edges, when say a dealer offers 50% of spot on coins and will cherry pick better dates from it before doubling his money on the rest. Yeah, I have seen dealers offer that numerous times at shows to family who don't know coins and come in to dispose of their father's collection. One collection I saw a glimpse of had SL and higher grade barbers in it, the offer was half melt.

THAT gets me peeved.

Lesson to be learned? PLEASE people, leave instructions to your heirs how they can dispose of your coins for a decent price.

 

Seriously, Detecto.. unless you know what you're talking about, it may be best not to open your mouth.

 

I don't think I would have been able to just stand by and let that happen. I have a hard time watching someone offer less than I would, but just for the sake of being courteous, I've never interrupted such a sale.

But half of melt, even if they were junk silver, is just plain robbery!

Assuming I had the money to buy them, I would have stepped in and politely informed the family that I would be willing to pay a fair price, which is much more than the person they're talking to is offering. Seeing as he was willing to rip people off, I wouldn't have been concerned with offending him.

 

Well over a year ago there was a thread here and I mentioned after a while I couldn't, and would start to give advice to people who looked like they were there to sell, like telling them which coins were worth much more than silver value, which were their most valuable items, and what their values were.

I was screamed at, cursed, and told they would have kicked my butt out and permanently banned me from a show if they had saw me do that by some members here. So, I dropped ever suggesting doing that here due to how I was treated when I told the story.

You are right, its just hard to see such things, but they can happen. Like I said, dealers need to pay bills and make a living too, but sometimes its out of line. I am sure the nice dealers here on CT do not do this, so I do not wish this to be a dealer bashing post, or turn this thread into such a thing.

 

I'm actually satisfied with the results. After working in a pawnshop for a while I was expecting the worst. I think the cunundrum? came with the whole ROI. My head was spinning with numbers and possibilities. Although I do not condone gambling... I do not view poker as a form of gambling. I view it as a game of skill because you are playing against other players and not the house. The gamble was that I would have a winning session and further my Franklin collection. While I would not consider myself a professional as we do have a few on this site.. I do come out ahead about 70% of the time in cards. This happend to be one of those times. Although I took a 1k loss on return on investment in coinage I was able to triple the money through good fortune.

The wise thing I suppose would have been to sell them on ebay or through the pawnshops account. The problem that I faced was that my personal account has a 1k a month cap and this was a spur of the moment trip. Likewise my boss at the pawnshop wanted 10% rake cut and dry.

 

You are right and this type of dealer contributes heavily to the negative stereotype. All the more reason for people to do their homework and find a knowledgeable, professional and reputable dealer. Unfortunately, its often easier to be sucked in by nonsense and/or make the assumption that if in business, the guy must be fair.

I find it highly questionable that your moral high standing is based only on your finances.

Right or wrong, do this at a show and see what happens. While something like this is tough to watch, you are in their place of business and have no right to intervene.

 

I thought the greysheet bid was a "wholesale" price for coins, that dealers use to purchase coins from dealers and other people.

 

That's just what came to mind, since it means a little more if you're willing to put your money where your mouth is. I still might have intervened and informed them that the prices offered were far too low and recommend that they get a few quotes before deciding who they should sell to.

Interesting. I have no "right"? I don't see this as being rights based. But since you brought it up, I do have the right to speak my mind on temporarily leased public property or even private property.

They are within their "rights" to ask me to leave, and if I don't comply, they could have me cited for tresspassing. They are also within their "rights" to ask me to stop talking, but of course I would have no legal obligation to do so.

I don't see this as a rights issue, but rather a moral and ethical dilemma of sorts. On one hand, it isn't considered polite to interrupt a sale, and it might even be against the policies of the event/store. On the other hand, a person educated on the matter is taking advantage of a person who is ignorant on the matter and it should be stopped. Why is that considered "rude", while the conduct of the buyer is acceptable? Because they paid for a table? Seems a little backwards to me.

Again, this really only applies to extreme cases of abuse. If you're OK with extreme cases of abuse at coin shows or coin stores, then by all means, please continue...

 

IF they need that particular coin. This is not the case when someone comes in and wants to sell everything. Many times dealer may have 12 of those proof sets in the backroom. They don't NEED the coin, they are providing a service to buy all of the coins at a decent price. Nothing wrong with that at all.

In other words, if a dealer NEEDED a 1881s PCGS MS64 and you just happened to walk in with one, he might pay you greysheet. Walk in with one when he doesn't need it, and a bunch of late date proof sets, some junk you bought on HSN, and an incomplete Lincoln set, he is not going to pay you greysheet for all of it, since he has no idea when or if he can ever sell it.

 

The dealers at our area shows sell their common stuff at greysheet bid. It's what the competition dictates. I have some nice, even PQ, Morgan and Peace dollars (PCGS or NGC 64s and 65s) I've paid bid or even 5% back of bid for. It only follows that these dealers are going to buy this common stuff back at 60-70% of bid.

 

So you, as some guy attending a show, should be allowed to disrupt business for a guy who PAID for his table? IIRC, you were the one who demanded I acknowledge your business experience, so may I ask how you would feel if someone came in and disrupted you at your place of business? Would this be within their "right"? Of course you are too "moral" so this would never happen, but what if the person disrupting you thought they were right? Would it still be okay then?

Keep in-mind that even "leased public property", at least for a time is no longer public. You are a guest of the those who are PAYING to rent it.

I made it very clear that I do not agree with this type of practice, yet you seem to be forgetting or ignoring that. I was simply trying to point out that you may not realize the possible consequences of your actions.

Drop the smoke and mirrors, hot shot. I made my feelings on this VERY clear, so why try and spin it around? How many times have you seen this tpye of thing happen? Any? Have you ever had to look someone in the eyes and tell them that they were ripped off, especially when it was obvious the person needed the money? I have.. many, many times and take great offense to some know-it-all insinuating I am okay such things. Its easy to sit back and pass judgement when you have never been on the other side of the table, but by all means, please continue..