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Casual Coin Annoyances
braddick
Posts: 23,122 ✭✭✭✭✭
I realize we've all collectively got a lot on our plates, and indeed, this thread isn't to take away from the serious side of our lives, yet I thought it would be interesting, if not distracting, to ask what your coin annoyances are.
For example (and again, this isn't going to light the world on fire with its importance) mine is dealers/sellers who describe their coin as "LowBall." Instead, they offer a damaged, holed, scrapped up POS under the guise anyone who collects worn coins must find their offerings attractive and desirable. Annoying!
Yours?
peacockcoins
3
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Agree it hard to be annoyed about anything at this point in time. There are so many acts of kindness going around it is too bad we can't offer hugs of thanks.
So I guess my annoyance is that I have to stay distant from those who share an interest in coins whether collectors or dealers.
Cleaned coins!!
And someone that does a good job at it.
Getting a present day, freshly holdered coin back from the TPGS that's loose and rattles & rotates in the holder because they used the wrong size gasket. Then I can't complain to them because they are closed due to CV.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Plastic snobs, I am way annoyed with the Kool-Aid kids.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
I really dislike polished silver because of coins. So if I'm looking at an antique set of silverware, teapots, or the like, it bugs me as being somehow ruined, even though it's completely normal to polish items in that realm. So not a coin annoyance per se, but an annoyance because of coins.
I dislike when I'm talking to a dealer or someone else is when someone else cuts in and starts to talk to the dealer. Wait your turn
Counterfeit coins. Especially when they look really genuine.
“Penny” police. Is it the end of the world if we call it a penny?
Totally agree! There's also the flip side where customers & dealers go on, and on, and on, about their personal BS with no end in sight as I'm obviously standing there waiting.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
People who say. “ What I’m doing isn’t really cleaning a coin”.
Agreed. Seen that to many times. Will make do though
When a dealer quotes a price and uses that filthy four letter vulgar word. FIRM.
When coins are described as having golden hues, whisps of ......., all this descriptive bs only to find the ugliest coin you could imagine that is of course undergraded!!!!!!
I agree every once in a while a coin is so PQ , awesome etc, but come on, evety other coin, freshly graded mind you,
Well, i dont even bother with their website anymore!!!!!!!
At coin shows: That guy who takes a seat, and spreads his books and bags on top of the dealers case, and camps out there.
Why the dealer allows it, I can only guess. (Old friend? Deep pockets?)
I had this happen twice at the same show from different dealers. I asked both dealers if I could look at an old gold coin. I looked at both coins for a few seconds and said thank you. Both dealers turned to me and said “what’s the matter, that coin is not good enough for you”. WTF.
When you ask to see a coin and the dealer replies "you can't afford it".
I have had this happen to me a few times and my reply was, "No it's not, I don't like the look of it in hand".
My reply would be something about having enough money to buy and sell his mother.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
ebay listings with the term "LOOK' in the title (or L@@K)
Artificially toned junk. It is, and has been for a long time, all over ebay and perpetuated by the same half dozen dishonest sellers.
People exuding putrid body odor at coin shows....
Sellers who care only about photographing the slab, not the coin. This normally results in a) lousy, low-res photos of the coin and b) photos where the reverse of the coin is upside down so that the slab label is right side up.
Why would I or any other buyer want to see upside down photos of a coin?!
Another biggie for me-politics of ANY kind-left, right, sideways or upside down on this NUMISMATIC site, disguised or not.
The fact that Heritage archive searches default to "Best Match" rather than "Most Recent".
There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who do not.
I hate dealer listings with P.O.R. (Price On Request). I never waste my time with those listings. They're almost always grossly over priced and they're too embarrassed to show their price in their listings.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
No. It's not.
I dislike the word "Dreck". It's a snobbish adjective IMHOP.
Pete
I feel the same way about the term "widget" to refer to a common date coin.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I have given up on coin annoyances... some of the above bothered me for a while....but some years ago, I realized, people have different perspectives and like different things, people have certain terms and hobby vernacular that makes them comfortable in discussions, and, like art, not everyone finds the same items attractive. So, I just move on through and save my stress levels for something that may really matter.
Cheers, RickO
Ebay sellers who describe every date and mintmark in a series as rare or key date!
The song "Break on Through" by the Doors seems to apply here.
Pete
At a show and if there are chairs for dealer customers and If you so happen sit in one of these chairs, please push the chair into its rightful spot when leaving the table so the chair does not clog the aisle. Not to be a bigger pain than my usual self, I repeatedly see this problem over and over again and again.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
When I go to a major coin show, I usually can’t get close to one dealers display case. It happens EVERY TIME. Most times it’s the dealer with the most interesting inventory. Some overweight guy wearing his mustard-stained T-shirt inside out is always sitting at the table, with all his crap spread out strategically on top of the case. Briefcase, greysheets, hot dog plate, you name it. Usually he’s chatting with the oblivious dealer about some obscure topic. People are pooling up around the table trying to get a peek, to no avail. I normally walk off and return in an hour or two, assuming the guy will have moved on. Nope. He’s still there.
Ah, I feel so much better now.
Dave
Obviously cleaned coins in slabs. I don't consider myself an expert, but if I can see it, it's there. I've looked at thousands of bust halves like that and always think that if I submitted that POS, it would bag.
Could tell the dealer in reply that he's got cheap coin for beginners. Fwiw
That's my biggest gripe on anything being sold! Most people think because it's older than they are, it's RARE!!
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The ever increasing number of ‘sponsored’ results in any ebay search I attempt.
Holders with scratches and scrapes over the viewing area (I hear there’s a way to fix this, but need a scrap/low value slab to practice on first).
Grading cases for dealers. (i.e no prices marked)
I swear I could take 100 coins of a series that I know squat about.
Lay them all in a case and wait for somebody to ask to see them & then quote some ridiculous price.
After that I take the top 10 most asked about coins and submit for regrade & sell them on the internet.
Is this what dealers do at shows now?
Unbelievable waste of time.
My Saint Set
Dealers that see I am checking for varieties and tell me to leave! I have only encountered 2 in all these years, but just grinned and told them how stupid they were for not knowing squat about their coins!
I have no evidence, but for some reason I always get the feeling that these are the people who think they're somehow going to get rich and us little people are a nuisance. Again, nothing to base that on, it's only the vibe I get.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
I have developed a rather thick skin over the years and learned a lot on the bourse and from this forum in refining that. If anything I don’t like players who try to horn in on a deal I am trying to finish like at a show from my table.
Beyond that recognize there are all types of participants in numismatics with varying opinions, financial resources, collections / inventories, and behavior which just goes with the territory. Just deal with it. My goal - Practice common sense, develop a strategy, sensible budgeting, good professionalism, and heads up security. Don’t get in over your head especially with risk or debt. It’s not worth it. You never know what the future will bring. One thing you want to minimize is depression later down the road over past decisions leading to suffering later in life. Listen to your gut feel, caution, whatever.
Reminds me of a situation from many years ago.
A Rather large dealer from PN with a sketchy reputation asked my best friend to leave his table because he was only there to cherry-pick. My buddy explained that he was attempting to put together a COMPLETE die marriage set of a particular series and needed to see if any of his coins were different than ones already in his collection. He was relatively new and still needed well over half the marriages but didn’t want to waste money buying duplicates. It didn’t matter to the dealer who stated he didn’t want to deal with “you variety guys”.
My friend related the incident at a club meeting during the show and we decided to try and teach the dealer a little lesson. Another friend went to his table the next day and picked out a couple of expensive coins to purchase. When he was told the name tp out on the check he informed the dealer that he was a variety guy and since he did not want to do business with our kind he could not purchase the coins. A group of us were an isle over and witnessed the exchange. The dealer saw us and realized what had happened and turned red with anger. He lost potential business from a group of collectors at that show by being a jerk.
I learned that when a collector of something I’m not familiar with to an expert level wants to look at all my pieces I engage them in conversation to learn more about their specialty and to reward them with a good price on what they want in exchange for their sharing knowledge.
A: The year they spend more on their library than their coin collection.
A numismatist is judged more on the content of their library than the content of their cabinet.
All the above!
Agreed! Reading these posts, I was thinking nah, nah, nah until I got to this one. It does indeed bother me that people will go to the trouble and expense of having coins slabbed - or buy them that way - and then not protect those slabs. It is a true pet peeve!
Smitten with DBLCs.
Many good complaints above sound too familiar. Lol. Me, being the cherry picker that I am. When I frequent a shop/store. When I ask to see a certain coin or set, then I noticeably check it out with my loupe. Then I hand it back to them after saying, " No thank you!". Many dealers will right away ask if I want to see some more of that same item. I love this when It happens ! The dealer can obviously see I'm seeking for a specific one. Esp. when the dealer has the time or no other customers.
Now, this is what irks me. When I have to ask to see more of that same item. I feel by him/her not asking me If I wanted to see more of that same item, that they would start to be angry or start to lose their patience with me if I did ask! I figure, by them noticing I wasn't satisfied with the original item, they would right away know I would want to check out more? Then, I wouldn't have to ask and feel worried If I did. Maybe not? Maybe, it's just me? If it is, I'm truly sorry. I'm just saying this is what annoys me. Good thread!
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