I went back to the Raleigh show today, and instead of just dumping junk silver as I usually do, I took a few nicer coins to offer. I'd spoken to a couple of dealers yesterday about what they were looking for, and I had a few things on hand that seemed to match. First, there was a guy who said he was looking for PL and DMPL Morgans, and I had an 1882-S with some nice rim toning in an old 64PL holder. He admired the coin, but said that while old holders were generally more desirable, the PL designation in particular is actually more stringent now than it was then. His offer was lower than I expected, so I thanked him and moved on -- no sale on that one. I showed that 1878-P holed proof Trade dollar to a couple of people, including one of the folks who had said it was genuine. I got some raised eyebrows and polite interest, but it wasn't what anybody there (or any of their customers) were looking for. No real surprise, and I wasn't looking to sell it yet anyhow. There was one dealer who said he was looking for early Walkers, SLQs, and S-mint Buffalo nickels; as it happened, I had the SLQ that I discussed here and here, a 1925-S Buffalo with dark toning, and the 1919-S Walker that I discussed back in April. The dealer liked the color and detail on the Buffalo, but was concerned that it was on the verge of blackening, something I was already worried about. I tried to ask him about dipping it in acetone to remove anything that might be accelerating the toning, and he responded with a short mini-lecture about the dangers of dipping in acid -- although he kept saying "acetone", it was clear he was talking about acid dips. I nodded politely and let it slide. We agreed on a price that was a bit less than similarly-detailed (high VF) coins on eBay; he gets to sell it up to a toning fan, and I get to stop worrying about it. He graded the Walker at VF-20; I was leaning just a bit higher, but with low confidence. I named a price around what similarly-detailed raw coins have been getting on eBay, and he agreed that it was a fair offer. Rats; should've opened higher. For the SLQ, I asked for a range starting a bit below what AU55FH PCGS coins have been getting on eBay, and he came in a bit above the low end of that range. Overall, I'm very pleased. I profited nicely. I got about as much as I could've expected to net from selling them on eBay, not bad for selling to a dealer, and I don't have to worry about returns or fraud. Also, I think my wife likes it when I come home with more money than I left with.
Nice writeup. Yeah, I bet my wife would like it if I came home with more money than I left with, but that only happened once. Unfortunately she was with me one time I bought 500+ nice late roman bronzes, and stupidly I promised her I would only keep some. I got to keep the 100 best, but still it hurt having to sell a few hundred nice roman coins to a dealer friend. I still visit some of them at his table from time to time.
Oh, I put over $1,000 in my pocket above the purchase price, (it was a fantastic deal), and still kept the best/most interesting 100. But I am a hoarder. I don't think about that part, I just miss the others I still don't have. I sold some of the better ones to some people here on CT, that made me feel a little better about it at least.
Understood . . . I always think about coins I'd like to have kept. Then I think about the number of additional coins I'd not have been privileged to handle if I never sold what I bought. While cash is finite, the experiences are not . . . I figure I'll recycle the cash to have more experiences. - Mike
I was there until about 12:15 and had keemao written on my name tag but nobody came up to me...oh well!!!
Yeah, he was the one with the white hand-lettered sign saying "We are looking for... PL and DMPL Morgans...".
Aw, man! One of us should've started a "who's going to the show" thread. I was toying with the idea of going back tomorrow, but I kind of doubt that I will -- things tend to thin out by Sunday anyhow, and I accomplished everything I set out to do today. One other happy note: I picked up a pair of cheap AG 1893-O and 1895-S Barber halves, which completes my set!! Woohoo!
