hello i am new to this forum today, and i am finding it very informative. i have a quick question. how do dealers know what a coin is trending for. i mean coins are not a market you can actually watch on a day to day basis. is it? like say gold or silver on the futures market. is their a good book i could get that is interesting and informative?
Hi Hey Pog No! Dealers and collectors like myself don't watch it day-by-day, but we do use books and our heads! One good book is the Red Book--you can find it at any coin shop or maybe your library has a copy--Next I use a trend that when you get CW every mouth they send a updated price list--the bottom line is learn and then buy. Right now I'm going through a hoard of coins (many key and simi dates)I've only gone over a small part of them...and so far have found a 1897-s half dollar, and a 1938-d half dollar. I would suggest that you get Coin World Magazine (its $41.00 a year) and also a red book. Hope this helps. I know that there are many more on the forum that will help you more than I Speedy
thank you for your reply. i do have a red book for guidance pricing in my collecting. but i am now considering starting to dabble in the business itself. does coin world have a link that i can visit for purchasing?
Howdy pog - Welcome to the Forum !! While there is no web site or publication regarding the coin market that you can watch on a daily basis - there is one published on a weekly basis. It is known as the Grey Sheets or the Coin Dealer Newsletter. This the BIBLE to most coin dealers. There are many excellent books you could purchase - but what particular subject are you interested in ? And if you are considering going into the coin business - I might suggest that you do some serious studying first. The coin business is like any other - if you don't truly know what you are doing - you will very quickly and quite literally lose your shirt.
hello gdjmsp and thanx for the welcome. i guess my favorite coins are the very pleasent franklin. i have numerous specimans and yes i have lost my shirt on some of them. i like quarters too. i guess thats what sparked my interest in maybey starting to deal. i recently purchased some state silver proof sets 2000 - 2003 for a pretty good price. before i purchased i shopped around a little and realized that some people were paying outrageous prices for these quarters. 1999 and 2001. so my interest started me looking around and if i searched hard enough these sets are to be had for cheaper tahn what some of these collectors are paying. mostly on ebay. again i am unsure where i want to take this. thank you again for your reply. any other advice you can give would be greatly appreciated and listened too.
Welcome, pog. Just wondering, do you have any background in business? Ever operated a business, or taken any college classes on the subject?
Hey POG, As a dealer I would suggest that anyone considering getting into this business to get their head examined Just kidding. Being a dealer involves so many aspects beyond buying and selling coins. The Coin Dealers Newsletter has an online counterpart that is daily. But no dealer will leave their home without their greysheet in hand. This is the only price guide that I use. There are so many kinds of dealers selling coins. Anybody with a handful of coins can be considered dealers. Ebay has hundreds or thousands of this kind of dealer. Numismatics is a very difficult thing to learn. Spend a lot of time learning all that you can about coins before jumping into this business.
pog - To answer your question about a book on Franklin halves - The Complete Guide to Franklin Half Dollars by Rick Tomaska. A quick search on ebay or any of the on-line book shops should allow you to find a copy. Regular retail price is $29.95.
hello all, i just wanted to say that you guys are awesome. i definately will reconsider my position and my next move. do i know enough to start a coin business? probably not. willing to learn. yes. i will keep reading and asking questions. with a site like this one it should not be to diffucult to get straight forward and honest answers. thank you again everyone.
A great place to get your feet wet, would be take a part time job at a local coin shop. This will give you a much better view of what the business is like.
