Pittsburgh show report

kranky

I was at the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatics fall show Friday and Saturday. Once again, I was permitted to work at a dealer's table which I find to be great fun (probably since, for me, it's not work!). There are about 125 dealer tables there, nearly all of them what I would call "regional" dealers. They have an area set aside for Foreign and Ancient dealers, and also a few dealers who sell jewelry. The dealer I worked with felt the attendance was lighter than expected for that show.

There was plenty of dealer-to-dealer action going on, and one dealer was literally hovering over my shoulder to look at coins while I was setting up a case of Morgans on Thursday night. I understand wanting to get an early look at the material, but geez! I'd get a row of 2x2s set down and he'd pick up coins out of the row as soon as I was done. I am astounded by the people who do nothing but buy from and sell to other dealers - and make a living at it. Talk about talent! You have to have a great eye, buy raw coins all day long without batting an eye, memorize all the desirable varieties, balance the cash flow, etc.

Most of the dealings with the public were either selling proof sets or buying coins they brought to sell. One guy came with his sister and he brought so much stuff it took the dealer a couple of hours to go through it. It was notable by its variations in packaging. He had coins in small metal canisters, baggies, baby food jars, plastic wrap, tubes, and Whitmans. After the marathon evaluation, the dealer made an offer and the guy accepted and gets paid. The dealer goes to wash his hands and comes back to grab some (now cold) pizza. As soon as he returns, the sister pulls out HER bag of stuff! No lunch for him for another hour.

Another guy was a little strange. He came up to the table, thrust a briefcase at me, and said, "Price it out for the whole thing and I'll be back later. But I want the briefcase back." Then he rushed off. The stuff inside wasn't worth much and when he eventually returned he accepted the offer while giving us two binders of 2x2s for an offer and rushing off again before coming back later to settle up.

Most of the customers who had want lists were down to the keys and semikeys in their series. I think if someone had a table with just low-grade versions of those in various series, it would be a goldmine.

A guy and his wife came up to me and wanted to show me some coins they bought. They wanted to know if they were getting ripped off and I guess I looked honest. First, they didn't get ripped, really. But what they bought! Circ coins with problems, wiped and/or spotted proof singles, and a colorized Peace dollar. The guy admitted he was just getting into collecting and only wanted a reality check to see if they were getting fair value for their money. Yeah, the prices they paid were fair, but I wanted to tell them to just buy fewer coins so they could be nicer. But I just asked if they had a Red Book (which they did), and left it at that.

Doing this a couple times a year is a real blast.

SilverEagleDave

Great story. I'm going to attend my first show in January. I'm going to the FUN show and getting really excited about it.

keets

that's a good show. did you see member's ptvetter and VAM44 there? a local guy set up but i couldn't attend. i'm trying to hooked up with the dealer i frequent but i seem to be scheduled to work when he does shows. i'm looking at it from the same angle as you, just for the involvement with helping a friend and learning more about the hobby. good post krank.

al h.

vam44

Is it true? PTVETTER had an accugrade coin in his case! Where were his friends to talk him outta buying it?

Thanks for dinner, Pat and BJ. Arf, Arf!

PTVETTER

I hope Vam44 enjoys his doggy bag, That 14 year old can still run??
Soooo you wil have to move faster than that.

michael

wow super grrst thread with responses and much information that can be gleaned about the real coin market!!!!!!!!!!

thanks ***** ***** ten stars for you!!


sincerely michael

Viper

A colorized peace dollar? What a way to start out collecting. Kranky, you should have gone one more step with this couple and explained the value of colorized coins.

Great story.

kranky

keets, I did see both PTVETTER (and his wife) and vam44 at the show.

Viper, I was tempted to tell them the colorized dollar was junk. I was afraid that they would go back to the dealer who sold it to them, demand a refund as they point to me as the person who said it was junk, and that could create bad feelings between that dealer and the one I was working with. As a guest behind the table, I wouldn't want to jeopardize any relationships.

I have learned from my few times working at a show that those relationships are extremely important. An attractive deal might be offered which might be too big for the dealer to handle alone, and he might ask another dealer to split it. Or, maybe you need an opinion on some raw Indian Head cents which have unusual color. The ability to go to a dealer who is an expert in that field and ask for an opinion is very valuable. Or you might be running low on cash from doing a lot of buying, and need to ask another dealer to take a check and give you cash back (nothing is as effective when buying coins as a cash offer).

So, not knowing who the coin was bought from, I couldn't take that chance. Does that make sense?

Bear

Kranky - Not only does that make sense, its common sense at that.

Viper

Kranky, I agree that you would not want to create any issues and bad feelings and kudos to you for seeing it in that light. I probably would not have held back.

I live in an area that doesn't have a very large local show, so I have never seen any of the locals selling them. I do have a pet peve against dealers on ebay or in publications who sell items that are the product of TV and QVC.