I'm quickly reaching the point where I have picked up just about everything in my current collecting focus that all of my LCS' have to offer. Fortunately, I live in a mid-sized metro area with a few shops available. But even the best shop only has so much stuff and it's not like they are a wal-mart and can quickly replenish stock! They only have available for sale what they are able to purchase. So most of my weekly visits are spent just chatting instead of actually finding new additions to my collection. (I guess I could start another series but I'd like to complete some of the ones I've already started). So I've got to start looking elsewhere to fill those empty holes in my albums. I know that ebay is one place to look and back when it first started many years ago I did use ebay a lot but today I am less likely to use it since buying coins sight-unseen from an unknown entity is not very appealing to me. Another option is to order from online dealers or adds from mags like Coin World. But there are problems with that approach. It seems to me that so many of those dealers and ads are focusing on the high-end slabbed stuff. For example, I've got the most recent Coin World in front of me and flipping through it, I see ads for double eagles and 1942 proof war nickels and BU 1932D washington quarters. In other words, its very specific stuff and very expensive stuff. So I come back to my main question: for a casual collector such as myself, where do I turn? I'm not interested in $1000 slabbed MS67 Morgans. I might want to grab a handful of raw uncirculated lincolns to complete my cent collection or a couple of XF common date V-nickels that only run $20 or $30 apiece but I'm trying to complete a date/condition set. Those kinds of things aren't advertised. Surprisingly there aren't any local shows in my area so I'm limited to the yearly state show to be able to go somewhere where multiple dealers are available. So in the meantime, where are good places to go if I just want to buy what I call common-grade, common-date, common-priced collector coins?
Well that's kind of the thing - they can. At least most of them can anyway. Most dealers belong to at least one of the electronic dealer markets and they have tens if not hundreds of thousands of coins available every day. And those that don't belong or use one of the electronic markets have many other dealer contacts. My point is this, almost all dealers get their coins from other dealers. So whatever it is you want just ask your local dealers to find it for you. It would be a rare occasion when they could not do that. This presents another element of coin collecting - time. Some collectors spend their entire lives trying, and not always succeeding, to complete their collection. Others might spend a couple decades doing so. And the very lucky, well it depends on the collection of course but even they usually take 5-10 years to do it. The point here is patience, a coin collector needs a lot of it. When I was still collecting it was not at all unusual for me to spend 3-4 years looking for just 1 coin. And some I never found. For example, when I was collecting US coins I was trying to put together a complete set of the annual Mint Sets and Proof Sets all in original packaging. And I looked everywhere, utilizing every resource. In the early years all there was was coin shows, coin shops, and magazine ads. But when the internet came along there were a lot more places to look. I used to attend 5-10 coin shows a year, every year, and at each one I would look through every Mint and Proof set that every dealer there had. At one show I might look through several hundred. But even after several decades of doing this the sets still weren't complete. I still needed 2 Mint Sets from the 40's and all 5 of the '36-'41 Proof Sets. I never did find those sets. Other shows for one. Yeah you might have to travel a bit, I used to sometimes travel a thousand miles or more to attend a coin show. But you can do it, and from where you live there are quite a few large shows every year within driving distance. Not sure if you are aware but there's one in Knoxville on Nov. 3-5th. You can check here to find shows within driving distance - http://coinzip.com/index.php Or here - http://www.numismaster.com/ta/inside_numis.jsp?page=CoinShowsCalendar&ThisWeek=1 Or here - http://www.coininfo.com/coin_shows/ Or here - http://www.coinshows.com/ And in today's world, with the internet, you can interact with other dealers and or collectors literally anywhere without ever leaving your home. All you have to do is contact them and ask them if they have the coins you want. If they don't, keep looking.
GDJ, Thank you for the well reasoned and comprehensive response! Re: the coin shows, I was aware of the upcoming Knoxville show. I generally try to attend the annual TNS show down at Chattanooga (that's the "state" show I was referring to) but I had actually planned to TRY to get over to Knoxville this weekend, depending on other commitments. We used to have a small monthly show here in the Nashville area but it stopped several years ago. All of your other thoughts are absolutely correct. I am really not in any big hurry to complete any single numismatic collecting goal. I've been collecting (with various levels of seriousness) for about 30 years and I've got many series that remain incomplete. I could reach out to my local dealers and they could surely track down some of the missing culprits. And its not really about money as many of the things on my radar are not that expensive -- they just aren't very common. For example, I'd love to finish my 3-cent nickel date set. They aren't too pricey but you just don't see them in a typical coin shop. I love to swing by about twice a month to my LCS and simply spend some time going through what he's got out on the floor. To me, the thrill in the hunt is finding those half dozen coins that I can use. They may not even be in the same series. I may have one day when I'll pick up an Indian cent and a buffalo nickel and a walker. But with little turn over, there's little new stuff to pick through. But I also wouldn't expect him to bring in hundreds of new coins each month simply to satisfy my collecting bug. And I would love to find a dealer online with enough collector-coin inventory so that I could click through a few pages and go "I'd like that, and that, and that, and that....." So coin shows is probably my best environment to satisfy my "hunt" mentality. But with the local one no longer available, I'm missing that chance to browse. Thank you very much for the links! I wasn't aware of that coinzip.
Great advice above - I second giving a list to your LCS and letting them know what you are looking for; odds are they can find it. I would caution with ordering from the magazines, even for lower-cost coins. I've gotten burned buying sight-unseen before and been disappointed with the quality of the coins. While most dealers will take returns, it is still a hassle and usually you have to pay return shipping and insurance. Is there a series you collect besides the V-nickels? There are definitely some dealers that specialize in certain series that you might want to develop a relationship with. We can provide more specific recommendations if you know a series you like.
Kinda sounds like that's the part that really appeals to you He wouldn't, nor would he have to. If you were tell him, specifically, what you want, in what grade and price range, he can probably get it, or them, for ya. But in a way it kinda sounds like that's not what you want. If somebody just up and showed you the coins you want, wellllllll - kinda sounds like that just wouldn't be any fun for you. Could I be wrong ? Yeah, sure. But given this - Kinda sounds like that's the important part for you. Nuttin wrong with that, I get it
I agree. I would have to develop a relationship with a dealer first. Or go on other's recommendations. There are MANY series I collect simultaneously. So it's not one single series. Really, when I go "shopping", I've got a mental list and just kinda pick up whatever catches my eye. But I've been on cointalk for several months now and I'll be taking advantage of the WTB section here in the future.
If there aren't enough dealers in your area just bustin' at the seams with good coins, maybe you need to pull up the stakes and pitch yer' tent elsewhere. I bet you could find lots of coins within walking distance of Central Park.
But if I lived within walking distance of Central Park, I wouldn't be able to afford to collect coins.
That Coin World you have in front of you should have a classified section. Look under the type of coins you need and see which ads ask for Want Lists Filled. Be specific what you want including condition and see what they can do for you.
