Hi guys, I'll be going to my first coin show next weekend at the old SF mint, and I've got a question or two. 1) Anyone else from the Bay Area going? 2) I plan on a small budget of $150 for walking around/purchases. Good starting amount? 3) Do dealers at coin shows ever do trades? If so, would it be worth me bringing a few coins of my own for potential trades? I'm really excited, after 3 1/2 years of collecting, I'll finally be heading to my first show.
Some dealers are willing to trade if you have something they want but not all will you must simply ask and they will either say yes or no it is really personal preference !!
You will be in shock when you see the amount of coins on display. You could blow your budget at the first table. Take your time and just walk the show before you start buying. Make note of the table number of dealers that have stuff you like. Be friendly and have fun.
Thanks, Larry. That's good advice. I think there's 25 dealers there. I'm not sure if that constitutes as a lot, but I will take a bunch of pictures and walk around to see all the tables before purchasing.
I'm tempted to go just to meet you buddy! I went to the SF Coin Show when it first opened. I didn't care for the venue because the building is a series or "rooms". Typically, a coin show bourse is a single large room with rows and aisles but the SF Mint Bldg is nothing but rooms and aisles. The rooms themselves can either be eerily quiet or extremely loud with chatter as the walls and floors reflect noise back at you. Parking was fairly simple but the city is always a beehive of activity. On that first visit, I was in the wrong lane when my street came up so I had to drive down two blocks in order to go back 4 blocks so that I could be in the correct lane to turn. The streets are all One Way which means if you miss your right turn, the next street is One Way in the other direction. Also, as with any large city, right turns aren't permitted at some intersections and the pedestrian traffic can be, uhhhh, intimidating. UGH! I don't like big cities and coupling that with the funky layout of the Mint building and the three hour drive, I've never gone back. As for your questions. $150 is a respectable amount for any coin show but have an alternate plan for getting more cash in case you find that one, two, or three irresistible coins that you absolutely must have. Sometimes dealers will trade but you'd better know your stuff as they are there to sell. They say they'll buy but there buy prices aren't anywhere near retail which means that your $50 coin might garner a $20 buy price. I do not recall of any specific error dealers in the area other than this fellow that's out of Grass Valley CA and it doesn't look like he'll be there. The Penny Lady is on the list and she'll deal with you. She always has a noice assortment of copper coins including some errors and exonumia. It looks like Dr. Eugene Bruder is on the list and his table is always a very nice assortment of varieties. He'll let you browse his 2x2 boxes as well and most of his coins are accurately attributed as ddo/ddr/rpm or whatever. I always make a point of stopping at Gene's table since he has an excellent assortment of Kennedy's. I don't really know any of the other dealers other than Rick Snow of Eagle Eye Rare coins, the McIntosh boys (always in Hawaiian shirts), Glenn Holsonbake and Scott Griffin himself. You're sure to have a good time Simon with it being your first show and all as you're young and sharp whereas I'm old and fat and get confused and frustrated easily! PS. The list of dealers I was looking at off of www.griffincoins.com was from the September 2012 show so I have no idea who is going to be there! UGH!
Ah man, you should go se we can meet up! (I don't know how far away it is for you, though...) Great writeup...sounds like it will be a lot of fun. If charmy is there I will definitely stop by her table, and I will keep an eye out for variety/error dealers. I'll also bring a loupe and probably do a little cherrypicking of my own. Would 25 dealers be a small, medium, or large show? Or is it all just subjective?
Thanks, it should still be fun. And probably best to go to a smaller coin show for my first show, wouldn't want to be completely overwhelmed and lost!
Advice: Only buy what you want. Do not buy simply to be buying as there will be plenty of stuff to tempt you and you could literally fly through $150 in 10 minutes.
I checked The Penny Lady's website and it doesn't look like she'll be at this show. It doesn't look like Dr. Eugene Bruder will be there either. I wish Scott would have updated the Dealers list for the upcoming show.
I'm tempted to go, would love to see the building. Yeah if ur gonna sell, better bring your A-game, trades can be fun if you bring the right pieces for bait. Best of all you can meet some good folks and learn a lot. Bring your own snacks drinks so you can take a recharge breather.
