First off, I have been collecting coins for a few months now and am still rather new to certain aspects of the hobby. I don't really know too many people in my area to ask questions such as these, so you are those people . I admit it. I have never been to a coin show and don't really know what goes on there, lol. There is one coming up in my area of Michigan in a week and I am thinking about attending. The listing says that there are 26 dealer tables. Now, is there trading going on at these shows? Should I bring some coins that I would be interested in trading for other dates? Are the prices usually reasonable? Should I bring my Red Book so I don't over pay? Any information is helpful, heh. Just out of curiosity, is it a good idea to hoard Lincoln pennies 1982 and under? Seeing how they are worth about 2.5 cents a piece because of the copper, it doesn't really seem like a bad idea if you have the space and spare time, lol. They are easily available in circulation and could yield a descent profit if copper rises in the future. It seems like copper will most likely rise in the future, but who knows when. Any and every opinion on this topic is much appreciated. Ill be back in about 35 minutes, got to catch the last period of the Red Wings game :smile.
By all means take you Red Book to the coin show. But you might want to leave your money at home (this being your first coin show and you are a brand new collector). You might want to buy a couple of cheap items but I would recommend getting educated before buying higher-priced coins. When you say "trading" do you mean trading one coin for another? I'm sure some of that goes on at shows but most deals are sales (either you buying a coin from a dealer or selling a coin to a dealer). (And there are plenty of dealer-to-dealer sales, too.) Prices will be all over the place. You need to know what a coin is worth to avoid paying too much. Part of knowing what a coin is worth is knowing how to grade its condition. That is part of your education. You can hoard pre-1982 cents all you want but at the moment (and for the foreseeable future) it is illegal to melt cents and nickels.
[FONT="]Thanks for the reply Hobo. I see where you’re coming from about leaving my money at home and just feeling out the atmosphere of a coin show. So these dealers also purchase coins from the public? I was under the assumption that it was only them selling. I guess I didn’t really think about how it is illegal to melt US coins, lol. So why are the pre-1982 pennies valued at 2.5 cents because of their copper when they cannot be melted for their copper? Anyhow, thanks for the information.[/FONT]
For every cent that is melted the Mint will have to replace that cent by minting a new one. Currently it costs the Mint around 2 cents. The Mint would prefer to have the bronze cents continue to circulate rather than making new ones at a loss.
I see. So, silver dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars are all legal to melt for their silver but pennies and nickels are illegal to melt for their copper? Doesn't seem right, but oh well. Thanks again for the information Hobo.
Where abouts? I myself lives in Michigan, along with several other members here on CT. The overall value of the cent is worth 2+ cents each, but that is NOT the copper value - at least not from what i read. The value the mint 'assigns' a cent is the value it takes for the mint to make it. This includes all the overhead. I do not know the true copper value, as i have little (some, but not much lol) interest in hoarding the coins.
The number of 90% silver coins in circulation is infinitesimal compared to the number of bronze cents in circulation. The 90% silver coins would not be missed nearly as much as the bronze cents.
I live in Fenton, MI and the coin show I am referring to is in Howell, MI. It seems like a somewhat small scale show and would be a decent one for me to get a good understanding of what they are like. Where abouts in Michigan are you from? What are your favorite coin shops in the area?
I keep all of the copper lincoln cents that I find, but no, I don't think it's a good idea. The amount of money you will make does not justify the effort required. I just have a hard time spending something I know is worth more than face value.
I think we have the same idea Cloudsweeper99. Just knowing that they are worth more than face value and are still being circulated makes me want to hang onto them too.
The melt value of a pre 82 cent is 2.5 cents. The melt value of a new cent is .7 cents. http://www.coinflation.com/ They don't want you melting the pre 82 cents so that they have to make more new ones.
Go to the show bring your Redbook and get an idea how shows work. Talk to dealers - you'd be surprised at how helpful some will be while others are there just to make a buck. As for pre 1982 cents. I never gave them a second thought until recently unless it was a wheat. Now I actually do keep them separate. Yes, they are illegal to melt but people are actually buying the things over face. They're fetching roughly 2x face on ebay in bags of 5000. Yes, that's a lot of coins but I have a lot so why not? If it puts a few extra bucks in my pocket I'm in. clembo
Don't bother to bring a Red Book. You'll look like a newbe for sure. No one carries a Red Book at any coin shows I've ever been to. Great book for information but prices are way off the wall. Do not bring a check book or credit cards to a coin show unless you really know what you are doing. I go to about 2 to 4 coin shows a Month. Here are my suggestions: 1. Make a list of some coins you are interested in with the approximate grade. Make a column for prices in the Red Book, prices you've seen on ebay, prices from the PCGS forum price guide and possibly any dealer web sites. This will give you an idea of POSSIBLE prices. 2. Do not use credit cards or a check. Several reasons. One is you don't know who is looking over your shoulder at what information you have on those items. Checks usually have addresses, phone numbers, etc. Credit cards have numbers that can be written down or photographed via a camera phone. 3. Since you don't know the dealers personally any personal information you give them may not be advantageous to your health, safety of your home, etc. 4. Don't attempt to walk around with any kind of price guide books. Dealers charge what they want. This is based on several things and one is your appearance, RECENT prices of those coins, if they had an argument before they left home, the weather, etc. 5. If crowded make sure you keep you money in your front pocket and hopefully note easily removed. 6. NEVER, EVER pay what may be posted for the coin. Always ask if this is your best price. If no hagling, don't buy it. Eventually you'll find a better deal. Almost all dealers put higher prices on coins than they expect to actually get. Sort of like a house price. They ask this and you bid that. 7. Always watch if anyone appears to be following you when you leave that show. If you suspect someone is, go back into the show. Do this several times to drive any would be followers nuts. 8. Move to Illinois. We have coin shows almost every weekend.
Coin Shows I live in Illinois. Im in Buffalo Grove. Ive never been to a coin show. Wheres a good place to get times and dates and locations. Thanks in advance
You can do as hobo said and click on that link. However, in the future you can just go to Yahoo or Google and type in coin shows in Illinois. Occationally some of these links do not show all the shows. I've noticed that the ones you get when you type in Illinois Coin shows the one in Countryside is always missing. Since your in Illinois and in the NorthWestern area, you may like the one in Itasca on the third Sunday of every Month, all year long. On Irving Park Road, in Itasca, just over a large bridge, in the Holiday Inn. No where as big as the ones in Countryside but that is where I've always found the best deals. If you go to Itasca, go to the middle and look for a dealer named Robert Griffins. Usually with a few of his kids. Tell him you know me and I said to give you great discounts. He will laugh but he actually will. 1st Sunday every Month Lemont. 2nd Sunday every Month Countryside. 3rd Sunday every Month Itasca. Soon, not sure when, really big one at Rosemont Convention Center sometime in April.
Almost forgot. There is another dealer at all those shows named James Sego. He has a web site called jmscoins. On his web site, lower left, is a coin show schedule. Naturally he would have that since he wants to advertise the shows he sells at. Nice guy. A little overpriced I think. Don't tell him I said that. Great junk box though. Also, coin shows are listed on the PCGS web site, www.coppercoins.com web site, Coin World web site. If you do go to the Itasca one, I'll be there about 8:30 or 9 AM. I'll be the old buy sitting at Ropbert Griffits table looking at all the stuff I can't afford.
