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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;tradernick, post: 4877, member: 648&quot;]I&#039;m gonna go off on a tangent here...I&#039;m not sure if this is what the OP wanted to know but it&#039;s late and I&#039;m all coffee&#039;d up and feel like typing.</p><p><br /></p><p>I often get asked where I get my coins.&nbsp; Sometimes new collectors think there&#039;s a magical wholesale source for anything you want.&nbsp; Still others want to become coin dealers and want to know where to go to buy coins wholesale.</p><p>Sorry but there&#039;s no such place.</p><p>I work hard and attend many shows and auctions to find inventory.&nbsp; I travel a good bit and always try to hit coin shops along the way.&nbsp; I purchase private collections... sometimes very small collections... sometimes entire estates.&nbsp; But I buy stuff virtually every day.&nbsp; This is not something that just anyone can do.&nbsp; It&#039;s taken me years and years of learning how to grade, detecting counterfeits, cultivating contacts and establishing customers.&nbsp; I&#039;ve always been told that one of the main keys to success in this business is being able to buy every single coin in any collection.&nbsp; I mean this in two ways.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>1. Being able to afford to buy whatever is put in front of you.&nbsp; 6 digit deals are not uncommon.&nbsp; If you are a full time numismatist you will see large numbers...usually bullion...but not always.&nbsp; Money goes to where money is.&nbsp; If you&#039;re known to be able to handle large deals you&#039;ll get MUCH more business than if you have to turn away large collections.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Having a very broad range of numismatic knowledge.&nbsp; I pride myself on being able to &quot;buy it all&quot;.&nbsp; Many dealers try to cherrypick collections.&nbsp; Some only want certain types of coins...or even worse...DON&#039;T want certain types of coins.&nbsp; In my experience many collections that come on the market are sold to a single buyer.&nbsp; The more you know how to buy and sell, the more you can buy and sell.&nbsp; </p><p>Sure there&#039;s some things I don&#039;t like as much as others...and certainly there&#039;s a LOT that I don&#039;t know thoroughly (ancients, overton varieties, newcomb varieties, to name a few) but nonetheless I try to buy it all.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Another key point is knowing who buys what in the world of dealers.&nbsp; Sometimes when collections come into the shop I take what I want or need for inventory or want lists, decide what (if any) I want to ebay, then just flip the rest to other dealers for a nominal profit.&nbsp; But I didn&#039;t get to this point overnight...and I&#039;m always looking for new buyers for stuff.&nbsp; Some buyers tend to come and go so having backups and staying in touch with everyone regularly is a good idea.</p><p><br /></p><p>Remember there is just no substitute for experience.&nbsp; The absolute best advice for anyone that wants experience in the coin business is to try to land a part time job in a local coin shop.&nbsp; If that doesn&#039;t work, VOLUNTEER to work a few hours here and there.&nbsp; It will be time well spent.&nbsp; Joining a local coin club is another way to learn.&nbsp; Don&#039;t have a local coin club?&nbsp; Start one!&nbsp; Surround yourself with people of similiar interests at every opportunity.&nbsp; ASK questions.&nbsp; WRITE emails.&nbsp; LOOK at a lot of coins.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this doesn&#039;t sound preachy.&nbsp; I don&#039;t want to seem like I know it all.&nbsp; The fact is I&#039;m still learning....after decades of collecting and dealing I still see coins I&#039;ve never seen before.&nbsp; I still call friends to ask questions.&nbsp; I still attend local club meetings.&nbsp; I still read and learn more every year...and I hope that none of this ever changes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Nick[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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