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<p>[QUOTE="Billy Kingsley, post: 918174, member: 19456"]Excellent advice all around. </p><p> </p><p>I have been to exactly one coin show, a large regional show (CoinFest last October...I wrote a fairly large, comprehensive report which shouldn't be too hard to find as I don't start all that many threads). I was told to look around first before buying anything. I tried it...and it lasted for about 4 tables <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Seriously, if you see something you want, at a great price, then don't hesitate or else it could be gone. (In my case, my first purchase was a currency dealer, where I picked up some classic red seals and star note issues for $2 for one dollar notes and three for $2 notes. Couldn't pass it up!</p><p> </p><p>Edit: Here is my coin show report thread <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/t73570/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/t73570/">http://www.cointalk.com/t73570/</a></p><p> </p><p>Be prepared to be overwhelmed. I was, and I am sure I will be the next time I go to a show again. When you see at the third table you walk past both versions of the Pan-Pac $50 gold coins, graded MS66 by PCGS, you'll know the feeling! (Legend's table) Another table was all world gold dating back to the ancient times. Yet another dealer had high grade Morgans, and so forth. The colonial dealers really have some amazing stuff. I am the first to admit that I don't have a lot of money to spend, and that I'll never have some of the finer things in life...but that doesn't mean I can't look at them and be blown away! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> </p><p> </p><p>I really like stopping at the dealers who have a little bit of everything. Specialists are nice and if you are really into a particular series, you can't go wrong there. But I find the people who have a little bit of everything have the most interesting stuff. I tend to go towards the obscure, so that may be more of my personality than anything else. </p><p> </p><p>I loved the world coin dealer's displays. I know the next show I get to, that the absolute first stop will be Alan G. Berman's table. By time I got to him the day was almost done, I was almost out of money and we were both out of time (It was a two day show but I was only there one day). </p><p> </p><p>I love seeing the older coins. I think the oldest US coin I saw there at the show was from 1799 but I am probably forgetting stuff now. (US mint issued, there were multiple colonial dealers) The world coin dealers had stuff going back thousands of years. I really enjoy ancients but I don't know alot about them, I have a hard time IDing them even. One dealer specialized in the 12 Ceasars of Rome, and had a whole tray of coins issued in the relativly short time Julias Ceasar was in power, including one of his portrait coins. Wow. Another dealer had some sort of taler that was from the 1700s and was about half the size of my best dinner plates, not a joke!</p><p> </p><p>For carrying stuff, I wore a backpack. It was great, because it freed up my hands, and provided plenty of space...It would have taken thousands upon thosands of dollars to fill it up, which I of cource don't have <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> I had all my purchases, two bottles of (half drunken) water, napkins (left over from lunch, you never know when they will come in handy), my Red Book, my Camera (I took the official show video), a package of potato chips that I got at lunch to surprise my mom with, my notepad, several pens, all three lists I keep (Coins I need, modern issues, Coins I have, classic issues, and I had created a shorthand chart of world coins that I ended up not using until the next to last table I visited!), as many buisness cards as I could find, some pamplets, and both books I bought. </p><p>The only real problem with the backpack is that...it made me very hot. I didn't know where mine was at the time (I had not used it since 2000) so I had to borrow my brother's. His was made from some sort of material that just trapped heat, so that was not much fun. I have since found mine and will use that next year, probably won't have as much stuff in it though because the weight ads up. </p><p> </p><p>Anyway....</p><p> </p><p><b>Don't Settle. </b>I did, and I can't really say that I regret it, but I probably wouldn't do it again. I love circulated coins, but I got some just because they were cheap, but they are so far circulated that there is almost nothing left to them. After I got home I saw one of them, in higher grade, was scratched. The dealer's table was well lit, and I was not rushed, I just plain missed it. I should have known that a coin in that grade should not have been so cheap.</p><p> </p><p><b>Be polite! </b>Don't interupt people, wait your turn, never push anyone out of the way, don't make nasty remarks if you don't like the coin or think it is priced too high. </p><p> </p><p><b>Don't try to take notes during the show. </b>I did. I keep very specific records of my collection and I keep multiple charts of what I own or don't own (depending on the era) with me when visiting coin shops or shows. When I started buying stuff I was writing it onto my chart as I went along but it just didn't work. I had limited time, with the show being open only a select limited number of hours, and I knew I would not be back. Some of the notes I took ended up being illegible, some were crammed into odd places on my chart that they didn't help me when I needed to cross reference something. Eventually I simply stopped trying, and just winged it on memory. I only ended up with one duplicate purchase, and it was a case where I bought both copies that day, not something that was part of my collection beforehand. Luckily, it was a buffalo nickel and neither one cost me more than $2. </p><p> </p><p><b>When you sit in a chair at a dealer's table, don't sit on the end and pull the chair in</b>. I can be happy to say I didn't do that, but I was not able to get through an aisle because there were multiple people sitting on the edge of the chair, pulled out so far that were practically leaning over to see the table. (Well, it was really only one guy, but the other guy didn't pull his chair in either!) Luckily, the dealer was paying attention and asked the person to pull their chair in, which they did. I don't think they did it on purpose actually. </p><p> </p><p><b>Don't hesitate to ask questions!</b> In real life I am a very quiet person who doesn't say much and has diffaculty talking to people if I don't already know them. It wasn't easy for me to strike up conversations with people I don't know, but I was able to and had a very pleasent time. Mostly I was just talking to dealers but I did also talk to several message board people, that even though I had never met them I knew who they were and that helped me out big time. Most dealers I have met are actually friendly, knowledgable people who are happy to spread the knowledge around, regardless of what you see people say on the net. In all the people I interacted with at CoinFest only one person was not nice to me due to the way I look, I am sure. </p><p> </p><p><b>Don't be confrontational!</b> If someone tries to tell you something as gospel that you know is not true, simply say something like "I didn't know that, that's interesting" or something along those lines, don't say "You're a nutcase" or start to fight it out. I have not seen that at the coin shops or show I've been to, just something I've picked out of life experiences. </p><p>If someone starts to make fun of your purchases or anything you brought to trade or sell, it's not a bad thing in this case to "take your ball and go home". If you are happy with your coins, then that is all that matters. If it's a dealer who you are trying to sell something to, don't take less just because they said that...either talk them to what you feel is fair, or bring the coins home with you. </p><p> </p><p><b>BRING CASH!</b> Most dealers are not set up to take credit cards at a show, and checks are just simply a hassle. Cash is king, and in some cases dealers will cut the price a little bit if you pay cash, although that should be taken as a pleasent surprise, not something to expect. (They have to pay a fee to credit cards, and they might for checks too, I am just not sure.)</p><p> </p><p>Hope that helps, have fun, and give us a report when you get home! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Billy Kingsley, post: 918174, member: 19456"]Excellent advice all around. I have been to exactly one coin show, a large regional show (CoinFest last October...I wrote a fairly large, comprehensive report which shouldn't be too hard to find as I don't start all that many threads). I was told to look around first before buying anything. I tried it...and it lasted for about 4 tables :) Seriously, if you see something you want, at a great price, then don't hesitate or else it could be gone. (In my case, my first purchase was a currency dealer, where I picked up some classic red seals and star note issues for $2 for one dollar notes and three for $2 notes. Couldn't pass it up! Edit: Here is my coin show report thread :) [URL]http://www.cointalk.com/t73570/[/URL] Be prepared to be overwhelmed. I was, and I am sure I will be the next time I go to a show again. When you see at the third table you walk past both versions of the Pan-Pac $50 gold coins, graded MS66 by PCGS, you'll know the feeling! (Legend's table) Another table was all world gold dating back to the ancient times. Yet another dealer had high grade Morgans, and so forth. The colonial dealers really have some amazing stuff. I am the first to admit that I don't have a lot of money to spend, and that I'll never have some of the finer things in life...but that doesn't mean I can't look at them and be blown away! :) I really like stopping at the dealers who have a little bit of everything. Specialists are nice and if you are really into a particular series, you can't go wrong there. But I find the people who have a little bit of everything have the most interesting stuff. I tend to go towards the obscure, so that may be more of my personality than anything else. I loved the world coin dealer's displays. I know the next show I get to, that the absolute first stop will be Alan G. Berman's table. By time I got to him the day was almost done, I was almost out of money and we were both out of time (It was a two day show but I was only there one day). I love seeing the older coins. I think the oldest US coin I saw there at the show was from 1799 but I am probably forgetting stuff now. (US mint issued, there were multiple colonial dealers) The world coin dealers had stuff going back thousands of years. I really enjoy ancients but I don't know alot about them, I have a hard time IDing them even. One dealer specialized in the 12 Ceasars of Rome, and had a whole tray of coins issued in the relativly short time Julias Ceasar was in power, including one of his portrait coins. Wow. Another dealer had some sort of taler that was from the 1700s and was about half the size of my best dinner plates, not a joke! For carrying stuff, I wore a backpack. It was great, because it freed up my hands, and provided plenty of space...It would have taken thousands upon thosands of dollars to fill it up, which I of cource don't have :) I had all my purchases, two bottles of (half drunken) water, napkins (left over from lunch, you never know when they will come in handy), my Red Book, my Camera (I took the official show video), a package of potato chips that I got at lunch to surprise my mom with, my notepad, several pens, all three lists I keep (Coins I need, modern issues, Coins I have, classic issues, and I had created a shorthand chart of world coins that I ended up not using until the next to last table I visited!), as many buisness cards as I could find, some pamplets, and both books I bought. The only real problem with the backpack is that...it made me very hot. I didn't know where mine was at the time (I had not used it since 2000) so I had to borrow my brother's. His was made from some sort of material that just trapped heat, so that was not much fun. I have since found mine and will use that next year, probably won't have as much stuff in it though because the weight ads up. Anyway.... [B]Don't Settle. [/B]I did, and I can't really say that I regret it, but I probably wouldn't do it again. I love circulated coins, but I got some just because they were cheap, but they are so far circulated that there is almost nothing left to them. After I got home I saw one of them, in higher grade, was scratched. The dealer's table was well lit, and I was not rushed, I just plain missed it. I should have known that a coin in that grade should not have been so cheap. [B]Be polite! [/B]Don't interupt people, wait your turn, never push anyone out of the way, don't make nasty remarks if you don't like the coin or think it is priced too high. [B]Don't try to take notes during the show. [/B]I did. I keep very specific records of my collection and I keep multiple charts of what I own or don't own (depending on the era) with me when visiting coin shops or shows. When I started buying stuff I was writing it onto my chart as I went along but it just didn't work. I had limited time, with the show being open only a select limited number of hours, and I knew I would not be back. Some of the notes I took ended up being illegible, some were crammed into odd places on my chart that they didn't help me when I needed to cross reference something. Eventually I simply stopped trying, and just winged it on memory. I only ended up with one duplicate purchase, and it was a case where I bought both copies that day, not something that was part of my collection beforehand. Luckily, it was a buffalo nickel and neither one cost me more than $2. [B]When you sit in a chair at a dealer's table, don't sit on the end and pull the chair in[/B]. I can be happy to say I didn't do that, but I was not able to get through an aisle because there were multiple people sitting on the edge of the chair, pulled out so far that were practically leaning over to see the table. (Well, it was really only one guy, but the other guy didn't pull his chair in either!) Luckily, the dealer was paying attention and asked the person to pull their chair in, which they did. I don't think they did it on purpose actually. [B]Don't hesitate to ask questions![/B] In real life I am a very quiet person who doesn't say much and has diffaculty talking to people if I don't already know them. It wasn't easy for me to strike up conversations with people I don't know, but I was able to and had a very pleasent time. Mostly I was just talking to dealers but I did also talk to several message board people, that even though I had never met them I knew who they were and that helped me out big time. Most dealers I have met are actually friendly, knowledgable people who are happy to spread the knowledge around, regardless of what you see people say on the net. In all the people I interacted with at CoinFest only one person was not nice to me due to the way I look, I am sure. [B]Don't be confrontational![/B] If someone tries to tell you something as gospel that you know is not true, simply say something like "I didn't know that, that's interesting" or something along those lines, don't say "You're a nutcase" or start to fight it out. I have not seen that at the coin shops or show I've been to, just something I've picked out of life experiences. If someone starts to make fun of your purchases or anything you brought to trade or sell, it's not a bad thing in this case to "take your ball and go home". If you are happy with your coins, then that is all that matters. If it's a dealer who you are trying to sell something to, don't take less just because they said that...either talk them to what you feel is fair, or bring the coins home with you. [B]BRING CASH![/B] Most dealers are not set up to take credit cards at a show, and checks are just simply a hassle. Cash is king, and in some cases dealers will cut the price a little bit if you pay cash, although that should be taken as a pleasent surprise, not something to expect. (They have to pay a fee to credit cards, and they might for checks too, I am just not sure.) Hope that helps, have fun, and give us a report when you get home! :)[/QUOTE]
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first coin show..any tips?
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