Copyright © by Dennis Kwas Have you ever told a coin dealer, when asked "what you collect?" that you collect "everything." What a statement that is. Have you ever wondered why the coin dealer lost interest in you--looked at you funny or just laughed? Come on admit it, you have--so have I. "I collect everything" is a very safe answer. Why? Well, the dealer can't show you anything, because you have everything. For sure you cannot buy anything because you must have everything. The dealer must feel that if you collect everything, then you must know everything. So there is nothing you can learn from him/her, is there? Looking back, I see the error of my way. I did not want the dealer to take advantage of me. I did not want the dealer to know that I didn't know what I was doing. I did not want to buy the expensive coin because I was sure it was over priced. I was not going to be taken advantage of--"I will buy what I want for the price I want or think it should be." If a person does not know what is going on, how could he or she possibly know what a good deal is, and more importantly what a fair deal is. Why should I buy a coin for $200.00 when I could buy a lot of coins for that amount? I bought the many. Well, what a great move that was. I never stopped to ask why one coin was $200.00 and others were $10.00. Having 20 coins instead of one coin made sense to me. I wanted a bunch and got a bunch. Everything being equal the dealer must be making a lot of money. I now can collect everything. I can spread my money around. As time goes on we learn the real story. We learn that collecting coins this way is a good way to spend more money. We have the low budget coins. In time we learn that we want the better coins. To simplify this story, I now want that $200.00 coin, because by talking to a dealer, I learned what is going on, what direction to take. But I have spent $200.00 on 20 other coins first. Now I purchase the original coin for $200.00. Having spent $200 on 20 coins that I don't want and $200 on the original coin I should have purchased earlier, the original coin now has cost $400.00. That works so well when we collect everything. Think about it. When you do not know what you are doing, let the dealer know that you do not know. He or she will help. From what I see and hear, dealers at most want to build their business. They will help you build your collection so you are a happy customer and more importantly a friend. Most dealers would like to say they helped you build that uncirculated set of whatever. Please remember to buy for quality not quantity. It is more rewarding and cheaper in the long run. I almost forgot, I want to thank Jerry for sharing his table with me in January and February at the Lemont Coin Show. I got a feel of how it is to sell coins. It was fun! fun! fun! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Words by Mike Metras As you know, being the editor, I get the first chance to comment on what is contributed to these pages. Anyone can say what they want, within bounds. But not all of us have to agree. I invite all of you as readers to also challenge what I and others say here. Having said all that, I have a few words concerning Dennis' "Little of This ... Little of That" words. Dennis assumes you didn't want the 20 coins for $200 and instead want the one that costs $200. For my part, I like the quantity and variety in most cases because it is the story the coin has to tell more than its dollar worth that is important to me. And twenty stories are almost always more interesting to me than one. But do communicate with the dealer, whether you want quantity or quality (as if money has anything to do with quality). They can only help you. Caviat Emptor (let the buyer beware) is important, but do not be so to yourself that you do not use that very important resource--you can still say no after you have talked if you are worrying about that. But you will know a lot more and may even say Yes. Originally published May, 1998.
Very nice article. Thanks for posting it. I think it's important for collectors to know that many dealers truly want to help them build their collections. Yes, they want to make a small profit, but that is not a crime. By talking to the dealer, you can assess his character and get a feel for what his motivations are. Many dealers were or are collectors themselves and got into the business because they wanted to do something they love. With that kind of motivation, a dealer can be a great friend to a collector
Photos There is a link that reads manage attatchments, so when you finish your posting just click the manage attatchments link and a box will pop up, then click browse then find your attatchment in your documents, pictures or 3 1/2 floppy , click your attatchment and then click the add button. once it uploads it click all done . Thats it
Thank you. Susanlynn9 also informed me. The photo was sent, and the coin is "history". The actual damage had to have been done during the era: 1974-1983, when I obtained the coin from "somewhere! It has been put up for the last 25 years! I have been "away" for this time. (another hobby, and in mexico)
