Every 2 or 3 months a thread will be started or end leaning toward coin sleepers. I think most people have a coin or two they think are sleepers obtain a few of them to hold on to. I don't think people do this expecting an early retirement from it, but do this for enjoyment as part of the hobby. Personally my sleeper choice is the '27P Peace Dollar, I have a few of them. My question is do dealers very often invest and "stock up" in coins they feel are sleepers? Two dealers that come to mind here on Coin Talk are Penny Lady and Arizona Jack. Let me ask you, if you don't mind, do you ever purchase several same type coins to hold on to for an extended time frame to sell later? Do either of you know any dealers that do this?
Personally speaking, I have not stocked up on any particular type of coins intentionally; however, I do have a pretty good stock (about 18) of the 1877 Indian cent key date. This coin has a very low mintage and, even with the soft market, it just keeps going up in price. So I don't mind having a large quantity of this or any key date. But I'm not one to buy now to save and sell later. If I buy it now for resale, I prefer to set it out for sale now. However, I do know of some dealers who do this. For instance, one dealer I talked to bought some high end circ and unc 1869/69 Indian cents and put them in his safe to sell in a few years. I also know some dealers who buy gold to put away and sell when they think they can get the best price down the road. I can see the logic, but it can be a gamble, and it's just not my thing.
Here is my opinion of a Huge Sleeper:secret: The 1892 and 1893 Columbian Half Dollar is the U.S.'s 1st Commemorative.
Working for a dealer I can't say I know a lot that "hoard" coins. In my boss' case he likes to turn them (better dates) quickly BUT he also wants top dollar. He has been at it for 42 years now. It is a business after all and idle inventory does not make money. My boss does have one weakness. CC Morgans and especially GSA. He tends to pay too strong on them then want too much from potential buyers. Hence, there are a few hundred at the shop. Scary thing is he knows this and admits it but a buyer will not come into the store and get a good deal on a GSA CC Morgan so they just sit there. I dust them off occasionally. Successful dealers need to move inventory is the bottom line. Take the profit and move onto the next.
This is an interesting question. As Clembo and Penny Lady have said, I think dealers need to move through inventory. I've always maintained that this is the big distinction between a collector and a dealer. Essentially a "for sure" $50 dollar profit today is betther than a "maybe" $100 profit three years from now. As my dealer has often said: "You can't be on both sides of the display cabinet".
Most dealers do not "stock up" in that fashion, however, there are exceptions. Occasionally a dealer will accumulate a large group of coins of the same type, with the intention of gradually raising the prices and then later offering them for sale as part of a promotion. Typically, after the promotion is over, prices fall back to previous levels and those who bought at or near the end are buried. Sometimes such promotions correspond with the release of a new book or an anniversary date for the introduction of a particular coin date and/or type. For example, if memory serves me correctly, 1892-1992 Columbian Half Dollars (mentioned in this thread) were run up/promoted in the early 90's. Back then, they traded at much higher levels than they have since that time.
Awwwwe, Mr. Pocket Change, I beg to differ - obviously, you have not seen my personal collection (see bottom of this page http://thepennylady.com/coinphotogallery.html). I am indeed on "both sides of the display cabinet."
Pocket Change does bring up an interesting point. I would think most people who are dealers and those working for dealers are also collectors. The dealers are the one with the money tied up in the inventory, so they are the ones I am actually referring to. I always picture a dealer having the discipline to seperate collecting from dealing, and the coins they make part of their personal collection I always think as pristine. I don't know if most dealers purchase and sell with their own money or operate off of a line of credit. I would suppose operating off a line of credit would help with the discipline aspect.
As a dealer, I am in a more unique position to see more quantity and quality coins, so I do get to pick "the cream of the crop" for my personal collection. However, I must say that there is always a slight but brief twinge when I come across a beautiful coin I need for my collection because I know if I like it, then others will too, so I could probably sell that coin for a nice premium. However, if I need that date, then the collector in me usually wins out and that coin is quickly plucked from the pile, and sent off to Todd for photographing to show off to all of you!
If I read this right a dealer is buying up a certain coin to make them more scarce thereby increasing the price to sell at the higher price. I would think this is very risky, but I did read an article once where I think it was four dealers got together and did this. They were very successful at it according to the article.
They don't do this to make them scarce. It's for promotions. And yeah, they work. But you have any idea of what actually happens during one of these "promotions" ?
I'm not a dealer but going to 2 to 4 coin shows a month I've gotten to know many dealers well. A few give me a large amount of Albums and folders free. Some time ago I wondered the same thing about dealers hoarding certain coins. So I started asking about the 31D Mercury Dime as an example since it is the 4th lowest minted coin in the series. Every single dealer said no way. I also asked about the new Lincoln Cents and was basically told the same. Every dealer I discussed this with said basically the same thing, that they are in the buisness to make money now, not tomorrow. A few of the dealers that also had stores did mention some hoarding of what may in the future be of some value and that is because they have the room in the store for such hoarding. But the largest amount of dealers do not have that luxury of large storage rooms so they sell as much as they can when they have them.
Yes, I have been hoarding mint state 1909 Lincolns, without the VDB. They are darn difficult to locate nice at shows, and I will see many dozens of nice gem red VDB's.....I will see more SVDB's than nice '09-plains In my humble opinion, the sheet should flip flop the P and the VDB coins, it is way out of line. The VDB's were hoarded, the plains were not....making them much more difficult to locate in Red Mint State...... Those with the means should try this...they are cheap at $50 and under for really nice coins.......and no, this is not spam, none of my reds are for sale at this point.
Mr. Coin Lover, As I read through this thread again I have to ask you this. What is your definition of a dealer? Is it someone that sells the occasional coin? Someone that does it part time while holding down another job? Is it someone that makes a living exclusively buying and selling coins? I believe the answers to you original question would really vary if these paramaters were taken into account.
while most full time dealers wouldn't consider me to be a dealer, I do like to think of myself as a part-time dealer, however, the biggest difference between me and a full time dealer is that I have the luxury of being able to speculate on the coins that I think will sell well in the future as well as buying and selling coins that sell well today (which, since I'm pretty busy to focus on selling coins at this point, I focus more on what I think will sell well in the future). As far as selling today, I focus on how I can mark up common coins, and the only way I figure I can do that is to roll them by date, than sell the coins in single date rolls. This way, I can get rid of alot of coins that otherwise couldn't be sold for more than face value.
Clembo good point. I was referring to people who make a living as a coin dealer, or very close to it. Definitely not the casual seller.
