The New York International Coin Show

If anything I feel like gloves make coins harder to hold and more likely to be dropped. I'd much rather hold them in my bare hands. At the shows I've been to the dealers have never had a problem with it.

 

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Some auction houses seal the lots with something like this to prevent people from touching or swapping coins:
https://www.coinsupplyexpress.com/impulse-coin-flip-sealer.html

At the Spink preview the lots I looked at were sealed into 4x4s with something like this.

At the Heritage and the Stacks previews most of the lots were in slabs. I can't recall if the few unslabbed lots were sealed.

At the CNG preview I was sitting next to a high-roller who was encouraged to take out and inspect a Naxos drachm that later hammered for 1/4 million. He dropped it at least once (4 inches, onto his catalog) and handed it to me, a complete stranger, so that I could touch and praise it.

https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=371292

I removed and held one lot I was considering, an obol I think, so that I could inspect the surfaces under magnification.

If I owned an auction house I would seal the lots in their flips. Not because of acid finger residue.... As a youth I wanted to be a stage magician. I would not sleep well knowing every customer had a chance to palm the wares of my consigners. (I would unseal and reseal lots on request.)

 

I've always wondered how dealers can be so cavalier about these things at shows too. More than one dealer at NYINC 2018 had absolutely no problem with me looking through coins I explicitly told them I didn't have the money for but would like to inspect. When other customers came along they'd often shift their attention to the ones who might actually pay and leave me alone with entire trays of coins. I was very thankful that they were so trusting considering they didn't even ask for my name but I don't think I could do that. I love sharing coins but even with people I know I rarely let the coins out of my sight.

 

I have experienced essentially the same thing - on several occasions.

 

WOW!
I was at a coin (CNA) show in Ottawa. I decided to drop in during my work, that Sunday. I looked kinda grubby in my camo pants. Make a long story short, I had around 4K cash in my pocket, I noted a MS-64 1765-HS Dukat/ Empress Maria Theresia /Transylvania/ man that coin spoke to me and the price was 3500 Dollars Canadian. I asked the dealer if I could take the slabbed coin and look at it in detail with my magnifiers, he basically said no. Then I told him I had the $$$$ to pay cash.....then he let me handle the slabbed coin. I ended up, even though miffed by his attitude buying the coin, no tax
Now, its has a new home with my other Transylvanian gold dukats. However, I personally have never handled any of my coins with exposed fingers....
I guess, my memory from a kid influenced me, a super rare US proof CC dime that had a "fingerprint"......to forever flaw that coin.
John

 

Well, it's the nature of ancient coin collecting. It's tactile.

Specifically speaking to taking the coins out of the flips, it's necessary to properly inspect certain coins. The CNG flips and room lighting made coins look porous that really weren't outside of the flip.

Also, they know me, and more importantly to this particular thread, they know the guy who is holding that fabulous (and might I add well provenanced) Brutus while I took the photo.

I don't take every coin out, only ones that I'm very interested in and can't see propery through the plastic. If I can't inspect it, I won't bid on it.

 

Ditto, and I've never had a dealer stop me or refuse to let me do so. Most dealers have felt tray "safety nets" for this purpose.

 

I have run into the same attitude. I was at a pen show in Toronto (yes that is a real thing), and I saw an item I was interested in. I asked for the price. The seller gave me look and said "one billion dollars" and turned away. I got the dealer's attention and said "Wow did you make a mistake" I then took out a roll containing several thousand dollars from my pocket. The look on his face was priceless. I walked away because I will not buy from such individuals. There are plenty of other dealers who want my money.

 

GOOD!!!

 

Bit off topic. I also walked into a car dealership, again in camo pants, ball cap. I asked to see the new Corvette (1999) convertible, the salesman shrugged me off. One actually said, do you have any idea of the cost? I walked into a different dealership, same MO. This time the salesguy, asked me to have a seat, showed me the models/ colour schemes.....15 minutes later I placed an order for a red roadster. Later, that Summer, I drove up to the first dealership, wearing camo pants, no shirt....just to rub it in.
John

 

John,

I can totally relate to your story, both with cars and coins. Back in 1988, I was just 19, but had a good job and income. I went to the Toyota dealership to buy a pickup. Well, a long story short, the salesman decided I was just a dumbass with no money and sent me on my way. I went literally next door to the Isuzu dealership and bought my truck. When the transaction was complete I drove my new truck to that Toyota dealership, honking my horn and flipping that salesman the 'bird'. I still have that truck, though it doesn't run!

A coin story? Maybe 1985 or so, I was at a coin show. There was a hoard of Gallic antoninianii at the time. For some reason I thought I could find a Laelianus or something similarly rare. A dealer had a basket of a couple hundred of these, $8 each, I decided to look through them. I was maybe halfway through, he got really pissed off, said something like 'If you aren't gong to buy anything dont waste my time', and scooped all the coins back into the basket. Ah well. At the very next table, a dealer had a nice Hadrian sestertius with Roma seated. I did not hesitate at $450, which might be $1,000 today. The other dealer looked like he just missed the 'golden goose', though that was pretty much all the money I had at the time.

Flash forward some years. I was selling cars (and coins). One of the things I have learned all these years, one never knows who has money and who does not. Some people may look like bums but have far more cash than the average.

Yikes. Am I getting off topic? What was the question?

 

I chose the largest vendor of ancients in the US who have a track record of achieving very high prices and who offered me special placement of my coins with a dedicated section on their website. Where the calculation came undone however is the vendor takes consistently dark pictures relative to coins in hand, and has done for years, and especially for bronzes the exposure downplays greens. my coins are predominantly republican bronzes with mid to dark green surfaces. They photographed terribly. Hence last week I was encouraging people to go to the CNG stand and ask to see and handle the coins in person. Now of course the coins are back in Lancaster so if you didn't view when in NY its too late to see how much nicer they looked than the photos.

 

Seal-A-Meal. These are consumer derivatives of commercial packaging heat-sealers.

 

My ancient coins were handled by thousands of people in ancient times, jingled in their pockets, dropped on vendor counters, eventually dropped a final time on the ground, scrunched into the ground by boots, buried in mud and grit, and rained on and stomped on for 2000 years before reaching me. You cannot damage an ordinary worn ancient coin by handling it. It's made of hard metal and has had 2000 years of rough handling already. All my soft fingers might do is add a little gloss to the patina, thus making the coin more beautiful. I've no idea why anyone wouldn't handle ancient coins. It does them good and makes you feel better. I bought one slabbed coin in New York. Within 30 minutes of buying it I found a good friend with a hammer and chisel (yes, he carries a hammer and chisel with him to break slabs) and he broke the slab which I then threw in the bin and I got to handle the coin.


lot 954 is now mine

 

I'm glad it went to a good home As pointed out in one of your other posts, CNG's images significantly desaturate and change the color temperature of coins. In the case of that Brutus denarius, the light obverse iridescence is completely lacking in their photo. I consigned it because I wanted a higher grade example (something I expect I'll be waiting to find for quite some time) but I'm at least glad it stayed "in the family".

 

You are my kind of collector, Andrew!

 

@Andrew McCabe Congrats of acquiring that beauty. What a lovely example. I look forward to seeing both sides when you get a chance.

 

I completely agree with the sentiments regarding holding coins. I have some cheap trays for exactly this reason: when I am meeting with others and discussing coins I want them to be able to handle thr coins. The only downside I've found is that over time these cheap trays seem to slightly wear the toning on silver coins(Abafil are apparently better about this) so I cut SAFLIPS to size and line the trays with them.

Here's a tray I recently prepared for such a meeting:

 

But, what about the ones that where expertly preserved, never used for commerce/handled? My Basel AV Quarter Dukat ND(1720) was from Elsen Auction as FDC. This coin is absolutely perfect, I do not think anyone here would want to handle it with exposed fingertips. Same for this CNG FDC Diocletian. All coins started out as FDC, its what happened after that creates problems. Even coins struck as Proofs from sets, are now Proof 65 insted of perfect "70".
John

 

Jordan

They know who you are! You aren't as anonymous as you might think.

Andrew