So you want to start collecting coins or perhaps you’re an experienced numismatist and you want to get good deals on gold, silver, or rare coins. Where do you look? Yogi Berra once said, “Hit em’ where they aint.” This is what this article is about. Sure you can find coins on ebay, from a reputable dealer, craigslist, or surfing the net. But more often than not you will never find real value. Over the years as an expert marketer and coin collector I have always had the knack for finding leads and even coins where nobody else is looking. Why compete with the big boys? These 7 tips for finding coins at face value or, if your lucky, below face value, can surely vault your success in finding real value in coin collecting. With a little diligence and a little homework a literal gold mine could be right in your back yard. So where do you start? 1. Your local Bank One day as I was driving down the road coming from a coin shop, I drove by a bank. Instantly, an idea came. I wonder if they have any coins I may want. I went inside with a smile of course and asked the teller if she had any half dollar coins. She said yes and pulled out a tray of 180 Kennedy half dollars all 1965 – 1969. She told me an elderly gentleman came in 2 hours earlier and cashed them in. Showing very little emotion I said I will take them. I gave her $90 and walked out with 180 silver Kennedy halves at face value. There melt down worth was $270 at the time. Score! I’m sure all of you have a bank account. Just ask your favorite teller every time you go in if he/she has any halves to get rid of. They may let you look through them, they may not. If you have a good rapport with the bank always leave your business card and tell them to call you if any more come up. 2. Convenience Stores Folks our country is in a recession now. People are cashing in their inherited coins, or collection to buy basic needs. Everytime you go to a convenience store ask the clerk if he/she has any half dollar coins or dollar coins they don’t want. People buy beer and cigarettes with their silver coins all the time. I try to avoid saying silver or gold coins because it may give away to the clerk you may want to resell at a profit and he/she will keep them for themselves. I have about 20 – 25 clerks locally who keep a look out for me. Again I always leave my business card with the clerk and tell them to call me if they get more. You won’t get lucky every single time, but if you don’t mention it you won’t get them. 3. Grocery Stores I read an article online that jumped out at me like a loose tiger. People in Los Angeles are paying for their groceries with SILVER! The recession has forced people into liquidating coin collections to buy basic necessities. We all need to eat, right? So every time you get to the checkout line ask the cashier if she has any half dollar coins or dollar coins. If she does ask if you can see them. If they are silver and if your the luckiest guy or girl on the planet you may see a gold coin. They are busy so respect their time. If they are wrapped in rolls just take them (pay for them, of course) and sort them out later. If there is no valuable coins, so what? Deposit them at your bank. And, always remember, you are a customer so I doubt they will tell you to take a hike if you ask. 4. Coinstar Reps If you go into a grocery store most of them have coin collecting machines by the front door. This can be hit or miss but on each machine it should have a label telling you who the local rep is for coinstar or it may be another machine. Be very polite and ask if you can meet them when they empty the machines and sort through the coinage. Don’t expect everyone of them to say yes but I read an article where a coin collector befriended one of the reps and assisted in rolling the coins. He found thousands upon thousands of wheat pennies, silver mercury dimes and silver quarters. This can be a rather daunting task but if your polite and even offer to pay a fee they may let you look through the coinage. 5. Estate Sales/Garage Sales This is where you may be able to score coins under face value. Check craigslist and your local newspaper for estate/garage sales. Read the ad for keywords like collectibles, trinkets, coins, etc. If you want to save time call (if the number is listed) the seller a head of time and just ask if they will have coins. If not, you just saved time and gas. I have scored bags of coins for $10-$20 bucks and resold them for a ton. 6. Trackle.com Everyone knows about craigslist. But you know if you want to search craigslist you have to go to every single city seperately. Until now. Go to www.trackle.com and you can place in a few keywords like coins, coin collector, silver coins, gold coins and it will track any new listings on craigslist for those keywords anywhere in the world. This does take time to read through it all but you may find great deals 2000 miles away. The seller may be willing to ship to you but be very careful since there is a lot of fraud. Do a thorough background investigation. I like to track what’s going on say up to 200 miles away. I’m always willing to drive that far for a score. 7. Courthouse records I am a life insurance agent by trade and I stumbled across a way to find leads at the local courthouse. Unfortunately, the most common document you will see is divorce settlements. It’s all public!! (I know your probably calling me an ambulance chaser now) Many times one of the parents will be ordered to obtain life insurance to cover child support. I simply send them a postcard telling them I assist dads in obtaining cheap life insurance. So that is how I get my life leads. One day I was reading through a divorce settlement and behold the couple was ordered to sell a coin collection!! They couldn’t agree on a lot so the judge ordered them to sell it. I never call these people because it can be a rather sensitive subject. I just send them a postcard and tell them I buy coins. And they call!! Again this will take up a lot of your time but nobody knows this information unless you spend a few hours a week at the courthouse. Art collectors do this when someone passes on and in the probate document it may list an art collection to be passed on to the heirs. Keep an eye out for coin collections. You may get lucky. Well I hoped this article helped. This is how I have built my collection without having to pay high premiums. Do you have any collecting tips that allowed you to get coins for face value? Let me know and I will post it on my blog at http://tklimson.wordpress.com Written by Todd Klimson Todd Klimson is author and publisher of The Gold & Silver Coin Collector Blog.
