How to profit in coins?

Traffic rocks! "Dear Mr. green18 play us a tune. Something to make us all happy." Hey green18 works as a replacement for fantasy. Sing it. It works doesn't it?:yes:

 

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it was only two. and i was missinformed

 

You dealers can jump in here at any time...

 

Not being a coin dealer, my opinion doesn't count as such, but IF I were, I wouldn't tell anyone who didn't already know. If it was my business / income , I wouldn't want someone with no shop, little knowledge, no desire to ride the circuit of shows and auctions, and spend money going to evaluate possible 'real collections' rather than just ebay or craiglist sludge, to just set back and wait for it to come to them. Then they figure mark it up 40% and sell on line.

I think the best deal for them is to buy already certified coins from the B/S/T forums here , PCGS and NGC forums. That way when they fail as dealers, at least they have some 'better' coins for their own use.

Heard too many sad stories and complaints from people who have little idea of how much knowledge, business sense, drive, and a lot of luck, is needed. Just my opinion.

 

Definitely some truth to that, in terms of not wanting to share proprietary knowledge. But some knowledge is fairly generic and can only be correctly applied by those willing to put in the hard work. For example, if a dealer says they travel to certain auctions that are generally only frequented by dealers and not posted online, well the young dealer would still have to travel and put in the work, pay for flights, hotels, etc. Just saying that describing how a wholesale market works generally need not necessarily reveal closely guarded trade secrets.

As another example, I can tell you how the knife wholesale market works, but I suspect that coins operate on a different system. In the knife world, a dealer typically has a dealer account directly with various manufacturers, and accounts with large wholesale distributors who contract with other manufacturers. A dealer may also purchase vintage and modern items at auction, or in bulk, such as entire collections, and develop close relationships with custom makers. Of course a dealer must also have a client base and way of reaching collectors and enthusiasts, a cultivate a stellar reputation. If he/she is successful, the internet offers ways to reach an international clientele.

There. That's an explanation of a wholesale market that is not going to be of any use to a young dealer who expects to cruise on easy street. Now, how does it work with coins?

 

Those were my years as well or right around that time frame. Traffic was one of my all time favorites, I must have listened to Dear Mr. Fantasy for like a year or two, it was part of my black light music.

 

I've got 3 local dealers. I can spare one. :yes:

Lies!

To the OP, all I gotta say is that you gotta spend money to make money.

 

I think the biggest advantage I have at the moment is in varieties and identifying varieties. Cherrypicking, essentially.

 

What type of varieties are you knowledgeable with?

 

im good at doubled dies, perferably figuring out a doubled die if its real or machine doubling. My favorite is looking and cherrypicking overdates, and over mintmarks. I love when people ask me and say this coin is funny. Do you want it? My answer is always yes. Im also good at differing most varieties if its either PMD, or truly a variety. But unfortunally, I have a whole lot more to learn. Im just saying as a begginer, i am better at spotting varieties than doing other numismatic related colecting. Not saying I dont like collecting toned coins, or identifying AT and NT coins.

 

But now you did say it. And you did imply your "good" because of it. The words "cause I got" implies it should be followed by "and you don't", which supports the imature position you are trying to overcome. You were doing fine until that last sentence.

 

The first time I asked a dealer "How do you become a coin dealer?" I was told, "If you have to ask, your not ready".

 

I never asked how to become a coin dealer, I asked how to profit in coins.

 

I would echo Doug's post.

I buy coin books, frequently at auction. Its always great when a dealer's books come up at sale since there are some really terrific and scarce volumes in there. You know what I DON'T buy at such auctions? The standard references. The standard references are almost always in tatters. You know why? Because a good dealer USES the heck out of them. I have seen dealers with books literally in tatters, edges frayed out so the outside of the books was three times the size of the binding, pages smudged and handwritten notes in the margins everywhere. You know what? Those are dealers who are KNOWLEDGABLE.

The classic answer on how to make money in rare coins is to buy coins right. The classic answer to how to know how to buy coins right is knowledge, and the best way for someone to gain knowledge short of 25 years experience is books.

The internet is fine, but there still is the issue of payment. No one on the internet wants to pay for content it seems, but authors need to be paid. So I find most REALLY USEFUL information still comes in the form of books. If you wish to concentrate on overdates and doubled dies on US coins, buy the cherrypickers guides and STUDY. You should know every single one for every single date for the series you chase off the top of your head. I know I knew them all for SL halves when that was what I was collecting.

 

You asked how dealers make profits... Thats is basically the same thing...

 

So true, I saw one of the large copper dealers pull out his copy of Grellman's Die Varieties of United States Large Cents except you could not tell what book it was from the cover. The whole cover/binding was basically duct tape, I got a huge kick out of it...

 

I don't want to have to read a lot, so can someone just sum up for us how to make easy money in coins?

 

While those kinds of books are horrible for using long term, they are GOLDMINES for someone who wishes to learn from a knowledgable dealer.

As an aside xGAJx, being more knowledgable about coins simply makes collecting them that much more enjoyable. I honestly would not be a coin collector today if all I were collecting were little bits of metal. How much boring can a hobby be than paying good money for little pieces of old money? Its the knowledge, the story, the fact you are holding a tangible piece of history that makes coin collecting interesting. The more you study, the more you read these books, the more interesting they will become.

So right off of the back you are "profiting" more by enjoying the coins you already own a lot more than you did previously. Just from that angle good books are worth way more than their costs, and that is not even considering any monetary profit they may help you obtain.

 

Sure.........

Dat better?