Best Of

@jacrispies said:
I am a young fellow and have had a couple similar experiences to @hummingbird_coins. I was holding a professionally altered "1804" dollar at the ANA and I asked the dealer how much it was. He immediately replied "Nothing you could afford." I pressed for an answer and he said $5,000. His assumptive response caught me off guard but there will always be goofy people out there. If you want more respect, just wear a suit and tie.

I agree with @FlyingAl, people can trust your opinion despite your age. You just have to spend more than a few minutes with them. There are plenty of examples of young people on the forum becoming experts in a field specialty that people flock to for opinions and information.

What to see more of in this hobby?? Let's crack out all TPG coins and bring the hobby back to 100% raw!!!

I had the, “You can’t afford that,’ line dropped on me when I was in my 20s. As it turned out he was right. His prices were so high that I could find the same thing elsewhere for less, and I really couldn’t afford to pay his prices.

One guy dropped that line on me when I was in my 50s. He was right for the same reason from 30 years ago.

@FlyingAl said:
Less reliance on TPGs - they get it wrong sometimes.

I do love some of the community though, there are some truly exceptional people in the hobby.

Particularly CAC. It amazes me that significantly corroded coins get stickered because they don't appear to be cleaned. If one were to dip those coins, they would be instantly rejected as "details" coins for issues other than the dip.

Yes, there are really wonderful people in the hobby. That was my takeaway from the FUN show in 2019, the first coin show I had attended in 30 years. I realized that what I'd been missing in the hobby were the interactions with other collectors.

I’m confident he doesn’t have an AZ quarter clip.

**Imagine stumbling on a buried rusty can of gold double eagles full of dirt and debris. Would you have the wisdom and foresight to not ruin the batch by wiping the dirt off and trying to get a closeup peek at each of the coins yourself and without any help or professional conservation?

Example image, not the same coin.

That's precisely what happened with the Saddle Ridge hoard of over 1400 coins, and more specifically this coin. While this one could have easily turned into an unc-details melt piece, instead was discovered as the finest known example discovered to-date. There were about a dozen other coins that reached finest known status as well from this hoard.

**Plate Coin: Saddle Ridge 1894-S $20 PCGS MS65+ CAC **

The level of originality in 1894-s is outstanding; even more remarkable to consider that it was fully encased in dirt, filth, and grime for so long. Mother nature's own slab.

Despite all odds, it was crowned plate coin status for very good reason, and it's a standout next to the sibling MS65+ example in the same year. The 1894-S boasts a natural and youthful tone as if it was made last week and hasn't aged a bit. Somehow this Liberty discovered the secret to anti-aging.

A few weeks ago I got it stickered with CAC and felt it was a LOCK at the time, although as we all know, nothing is ever guaranteed. Thankfully the Saints were smiling on Saddle Ridge that day, and the green crown was awarded.

You never know what beauty might be unearthed and restored beneath a beast.

**

@hummingbird_coins said:
On this forum, and elsewhere, I feel like I'm being treated like I can't be that knowledgeable just because of my age. I think some people have a hard time accepting that someone as young as me knows as much, if not more about coins than them. For example, I took a coin to a dealer at a show and they said something along the lines of "just so you know this coin is scratched". Of course I know that, why else would I want to sell it raw? I would like to see less of this.

I have a few thoughts here based on my experiences (and bear in mind I’ve been on the boards since I was 14, and I’m about to turn 38). First, being online offers some anonymity, which makes it easier to be judged for content versus demographics. I know you’re a YN because it says so in your sig line, but otherwise, I wouldn’t know, and since there aren’t many YNs here, my default would be to assume anyone is an adult. It’s a double edged sword: my experience was that being a YN (here among the folks that knew I was young, or in person) gives some leeway if you commit a faux pas, and many folks went out of their way to give me guidance that remains valuable to this day. Sure some had a negative bias, but they were few and far between.

Second, being younger, you have fewer experiences than folks who have been around a while, and naturally you will see things through the lens of a YN. I mention this because of your example. There are some dealers who just have bad skills when it comes to treating potential customers with respect (or they just don’t care). You may see it as the result of being young, but in 10 or 20 years, you’ll still run into them and realize that they don’t discriminate.

So why might a dealer mention the scratch as that one did? Let’s pretend your coin is worth $100 problem-free, and a dealer might pay $70 for it. With the scratch, maybe the dealer thinks it’s worth $60 and will offer $30 because it’s a tougher sell with damage. The dealer could mention the scratch outright so that if you (the generic seller, not specifically a YN) are going to ask full retail, you already know he’s aware of the problem so a counter offer that may seem extremely low has some justification. Or it’s a negotiating tactic where the buyer talks down the coin as much as possible to justify starting with a particularly low offer. Or maybe the dealer has dealt with enough coins where the seller truly didn’t realize there was an issue that he points it out up front. That you were aware may put you in the minority of his clientele. Point being, adults selling coins face this, too, but you might need to wait a decade or two to see it for yourself.

As far as the “you can’t afford it” line, there are loads of those stories here from folks who may have just dressed comfortably in a way that doesn’t show off wealth. Some of those folks had extremely deep pockets even if it didn’t look like it. Yes, most younger folks don’t have “a lot” to spend, but the dealers that make those generalizations won’t judge just by age. It’s a crappy response from a dealer, but it’s definitely not limited to just kids.

If I can offer any advice, it’s this: find the folks who will go out of their way to help you—here and in person—soak up their knowledge, and when the time comes, pay it forward. Yes, you’ll run into jerks. I still do, and not because of my age, but because some people just happen to be jerks. Don’t fret over them. Make a mental note and pass them by next time. Or cherry-pick them and profit from your knowledge. But you’re going to come across some amazing people, and they’re the ones to stick with. The fine folks who set me on the right path as a high schooler remain among my closest friends in the hobby and are often the first I reach out to with a question or a thought today.

@hummingbird_coins said:
On this forum, and elsewhere, I feel like I'm being treated like I can't be that knowledgeable just because of my age. I think some people have a hard time accepting that someone as young as me knows as much, if not more about coins than them. For example, I took a coin to a dealer at a show and they said something along the lines of "just so you know this coin is scratched". Of course I know that, why else would I want to sell it raw? I would like to see less of this.

It fades as you start to build a name for yourself. I know that personally here on the boards I rarely get treated any differently because I’m younger, but that’s also because I have a long track record behind me now.

I don’t usually go to shows, but at the FUN show last year I didn’t really get treated any differently by the major dealers because I had made somewhat of a splash in other ways so they knew what I was capable of. However, even if dealers treated me differently, it’s not necessarily a negative. I once disliked it, but there’s always more to learn and in the long run it doesn’t matter what people think about you when you know what you’re capable of.

@SurfinxHI said:
So, to be fair to this conversation, several points should be made for insurance types and industries talked about here. The real dicotomy seems to not necessarily be in costs, but rather in OVERALL values of your material. You are a big shipper? Likely a Hugh Wood or Sotheby's situation. You are a small to medium person, well then, there are options like shipandinsure. I think Pirate Shipping also has insurance, but I don't use them, so I'm not sure about fee structure.

1. Shipandinsure has an annual fee ($90) or so, PLUS you have to accesses it via a membership NACA (which has a fee of $135). Total is $225 for ACCESS to the shipandinsure system (I'm pretty sure).
2. Shipandinsure has different rates for different types of shipping choices as listed in Dan's post. While USPS priority has increased in cost, and decreased in coverage, overall, USPS is cheaper for small items in priority boxes. Way cheaper in my experience than FEDEX.
3. I don't have experience with Hugh Wood, except contacting them once, and not getting a reply. My thought is that your premiums for Hugh Wood would have to be much greater than $225 per year...but it also comes with transport insurance, etc. Without doing the math, for a smaller collector that isn't transporting $200K to $1 mil in coins to shows each year, seems like something like a shipandinsure would be better.
4. USPS registered comes with $25K insurance up front, and covers collectables. IF you don't mind the wait times, this could be on par with other shipping forms.
5. This is an instant economy. Folks want to be paid now, and have their item now. Fedex or the like (overnight mail) seems like best type of shipping, if that is your fancy. shipandinsure rates are nearly comparable for those services. I have heard (ancillary) that FEDEX has a worse track record for theft, etc than USPS. Again, my source on that is "cuz I made it the heck up."
6. the decision is really geared on "how much" and "how costly" the stuff you ship is. At this point, $500-1000 or less, I am more likely to self insure than pay for insurance (depending on where it is going, etc). For smaller shippers, say 100K or less a year, a discounter might be better than a larger insurance policy.
7. as always, your mileage may vary.

Best,
Surf

Regarding #4 above - I’m not sure what you meant by “USPS registered comes with $25K insurance up front,..”. But in order to avoid possible confusion, the maximum insurance coverage provided with registered insured mail is $50,000 per package (not $25,000). And the sender doesn’t automatically get a particular amount of coverage “up front”. The desired amount must be requested and paid for.