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When you find a VAM that a dealer is selling ....

Crazy4CoinsCrazy4Coins Posts: 1,922 ✭✭✭
in U.S. Coin Forum
... do you

tell him it's a VAM before you purchase it?

purchase it then tell him it's a VAM? or

purchase it and don't tell him a thing?

and what if you decide not to buy it...do you tell him it's a VAM before leaving?

I tend to think most dealers realize you're looking for VAMs when you pull out your loupe and study the coins closely.When you decide to buy a coin after looking at it closely I've noticed the dealer tends to take a hard look at it before letting it go.Maybe trying to figure out what he missed.

Randy
Randy


The Whisker Cheek Collection - Top 50 Peace VAM Registry
Landmark Buffalo Collection

Comments

  • Wolf359Wolf359 Posts: 7,663 ✭✭✭
    If I'm not buying the coin, I'll sometimes tell them. Some could care less...

    Otherwise, the cash comes out and I'll pay his price image
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  • DUIGUYDUIGUY Posts: 7,252 ✭✭✭
    Never had the oportunity to buy a coin in person so I am not sure what I would do. Did buy a 91cc gsa
    from a dealer via phone and it turned out to be a VAM 3. I never told the dealer.
    “A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly."



    - Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC
  • Crazy4CoinsCrazy4Coins Posts: 1,922 ✭✭✭
    I've told them a few times,but then I started thinking it was taking the fun and satisfaction away from the collector that followed behind me.
    Randy


    The Whisker Cheek Collection - Top 50 Peace VAM Registry
    Landmark Buffalo Collection
  • DennisHDennisH Posts: 14,011 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My philosophy is:

    1. Buy the coin at his price.
    2. Say "Thank you, it's been a pleasure and I hope we can do business again."
    3. Smirk all the way home.
    When in doubt, don't.
  • rkfishrkfish Posts: 2,617 ✭✭✭


    << <i>3. Smirk all the way home. >>



    DennisH will also "smirk" at the table...........imageimageimage
    Steve

    Check out my PQ selection of Morgan & Peace Dollars, and more at:
    WWW.PQDOLLARS.COM or WWW.GILBERTCOINS.COM
  • DennisHDennisH Posts: 14,011 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Especially if he is teaching young VAM Jedi Knights with their own coins! image
    When in doubt, don't.
  • RampageRampage Posts: 9,512 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>My philosophy is:

    1. Buy the coin at his price.
    2. Say "Thank you, it's been a pleasure and I hope we can do business again."
    3. Smirk all the way home. >>



    I agree with that philosophy.image
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,846 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>My philosophy is:

    1. Buy the coin at his price.
    2. Say "Thank you, it's been a pleasure and I hope we can do business again."
    3. Smirk all the way home. >>

    image

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • VAMs4U2BuyHereVAMs4U2BuyHere Posts: 304
    Most of the dealers I buy from already know I'm looking for VAMs and just don't care. I find a coin, get a price, and then I will show them the unique characteristic of the coin. I buy huge numbers of coins at a time. They are just happy to have my business.


    If I find one that I'm just not interested in purchasing, I will tell them what it is too.

  • ScarsdaleCoinScarsdaleCoin Posts: 5,331 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A lot of dealers just dont care about the VAM....only thing I can add is it would be nice if you see the coin, know its a VAM, and are not going to buy it...then let the dealer know what VAM it is so he can mark the coin as such.... Dr. Michael Fey goes around many coins shows looking and many times tells dealers that they have a better VAM coin in their case...PS: hes a good guy and if you are voting in the ANA, casting him a vote would be nice....
    Jon Lerner - Scarsdale Coin - www.CoinHelp.com
  • RVDavisRVDavis Posts: 1,137 ✭
    My response is that it depends upon the dealer, and his/her attitude. I work wiht a number of dealers who know I am a VAM collector. Two of them hold out specific dates and mints for me, I check with them every few weeks and look through what they have. If I find something that I do not want but I know is not attributed or is mis-attributed, I will tell these delaers.

    Then there are the jerks. Folks who do not want to to let anyone look through their coins. Who are irritated to open a case and bring out a coin for close review. If I run into one of that type of delaer, I am perfectly happy to rip them. I got an 1882 O/S VAM 3 and an 1882 O/S VAM 5 from a dealer like that recently. AU 58 and MS 61 is how they graded at ANACS. The dealer was a real creep so I did not say a word.
    Proud recipient of YOU SUCK more than once and less than 100 times.
  • DennisHDennisH Posts: 14,011 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Part of my philosophy is to identify the good guys in the dealer world -- guys like Larry and Steve, Art McBride, and Steve Estes, and teach them about VAMs for as long as their patience holds out.

    Everyone seems to have a different attitude about VAMs; so far no one has gotten excited about them in general, most have learned the really significant ones, and they all get in touch with me with value questions when they run across one they don't know about.

    The bottom line is, information is most valuable when it is shared, I'm happy to share what I know with anyone who asks, and the more people who know about VAMs the better it is for everyone.
    When in doubt, don't.

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