How much do coin dealers make? Care to guess?

SethChandler

As a collector, I've always wanted to know. To start, I would classify a dealer into four segments.


1) The local Mom & Pop outfits, attending maybe one or two local shows a year.

2) Dealers that may or may not have a retail store but attend all national shows.

3) Major dealers that have an established client base, perhaps a nice website, advertise in Coin World, attend all major shows, and are very active at auctions.

4) The monsters. Q. David Bowers, James Halperin, Stacks, Ira Goldberg, and all those world class graders that David Hall says are major wholesalers.

Any ideas?

FrattLaw

My guess would be -- not as much as they would like to.

Michael

Jaredc

Except for the larger and prominent dealers, I would say most are inventory rich, but cash poor when you compare it to their inventory.

gemtone65

Michael Casper told me he cleared $156,000 last year, much less than I expected. He practically has lots for sale on E-bay for that amount. I suppose those lots don't come cheaply.

Bustman

<< <i>Michael Casper told me he cleared $156,000 last year, much less than I expected. He practically has lots for sale on E-bay for that amount. I suppose those lots don't come cheaply. >>



I am sure he would be happy to see you sharing this info with all of us. Mike also has a few other ventures going though. Is that amount just for the coin biz?

littlewicher

I live near Mike Casper. He is also the appraiser of meteors for the Smithsonian Institution, so that pays quite well. He's made millions off of his meteor business.

Barry

Appraising meteors?! Are they graded?
For example, MS (Meteor State) 65?

Bustman

He's also a photographer. Who would have thought there was millions to be made in meteors?

CarlWohlforth

I have a meteor!!! It came from China. It is pretty cool. At least to me. My daughter thinks it is just a rusted hunk of metal...

I heard that most businesses fail in their first year and that very few make any money at all. I am pleased to report I made more than twenty cents an hour last year, my first year in biz. I was happy to have a positive income my first year, but even my nine year old daughter won't work for that wage

CLASSICS

<< <i>Appraising meteors?! Are they graded?
For example, MS (Meteor State) 65? >>

...............i like that.... now all we need are slabs to hold them

littlewicher

Actually our school's science department has small pieces of meteors from Mike Capser encased in a plastic box, similar to a slab.

jadecoin

Great question! It depends on the margin. I think we only grossed perhaps $250,000 last year, and our margin is less than 15%. So our net before expenses was maybe $35,000.

Needless to say, we're not in business to get rich.

- jadecoins

gemtone65

Bustman: yes, this is just on coins. Frankly, I hardly know Mr. Casper, and as I recall he revealed this information to me on our first meeting. I got the impression he couldn't care less about some things, including whether anyone knew this financial information or not.

Obviously, I'm usually a little more discreet in such matters. But, there is considerable BS on these boards, without specific details, so that I thought I'd try to be more specific in my comments. Just trying to spice things up a little, I guess.

sinin1

hey Carl, are you sure you didn't forget some expenses? Business use of home, mileage, health insurance, electricity, internet access fees, new computer, depreciation?

Just curious, 20 cents an hour seems a little high to me ( maybe you aren't counting all your hours)

jeffnpcb

Hopefully as much as they can. The grading companies and slabbing has turned many of the collectors in raw coins thinking twice about spending on over-valued price because of plastic and insert! We need to drop back and look at authenticity of all coins below MS. I'm out for nice coins, but get hamstrung because of a slab and company name on it.
What happened to going in and looking, holding and viewing a raw coin! Then making a decision to buy! The grey sheet and retail price guides reflect coins in a raw state, not in a plastic holder!
I for one wish they would expand out to the local collector with a Dansco, then an elitist with something to prove!

Bustman

<< <i>Bustman: yes, this is just on coins. Frankly, I hardly know Mr. Casper, and as I recall he revealed this information to me on our first meeting. I got the impression he couldn't care less about some things, including whether anyone knew this financial information or not.

Obviously, I'm usually a little more discreet in such matters. But, there is considerable BS on these boards, without specific details, so that I thought I'd try to be more specific in my comments. Just trying to spice things up a little, I guess. >>



Well allright then, tell us more. I want to know how much all the big numismatic stars make!!

ClausUrch

I would guess....























































100,000,000 per year before taxes!

CarlWohlforth

I didn't do the home office deduction thing. That would bring it down to near zero. Since I do my own taxes the time it takes to get me to near zero would actually get me even nearer zero

supercoin

In 2001, I made approximately $5,453,000,000 more than Ford Motor Company. (Ref.).

Bear

How do you get a big meteor in a slab???? Even if you could,

how would you get the slab in a storage box????

ClausUrch

Bear:

Contrary to popular belief, Meteors are so large that they are not kept in slabs but rather, they are disguised like large, non-obtrusive and worthless boulders and kept in peoples' front yards so as not to attract attention.

AtcBob

Talking about makin' $, I personally made less than 750,000.00 last year.
Just thought I'd throw that out there as I'm a newbie!


Anyone else?

KlectorKid

I made less than $750 last year.

Blade

I would be really interested to know. Especially #3 that attends the national shows, what is take home pay after net coin sale margins less some hefty travel expenses? If you made 15% on the coins and it cost you $2,000 to do a big show with travel, booth fees, lodging, meals, car rental, etc, you would need to sell a lot of coins to have a nice profit.

DesertLizard

I would imagine their earnings are all over the map depending on what collectors are buying.

More important, imagine a large dealer caught with tons of inventory when say, pop top RD Lincolns fall out of favor. The losses would be staggering.

Nevermind how much they make, think about all the lousy travel, bad meals, hotel beds, rental cars, etc. A normal desk job looks much more appealing.

JohnButlerfromLV

Not enough, less than I needed. Too much to be hired away to California.
John Butler
Ex-PCGS Grader