What $7 will buy you at a coin show

doh

Let me start with the details: I have a coin on lay-away at a b&m store, so I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on a coin at a show. I looked in my wallet and discovered I had $7. I thought it might be fun to search a show, kinda like when I was a kid, and see what I could find for $7. I was hoping for a well worn large cent or perhaps seated half.

I looked through half price bins and 3 ring binders for nearly an hour. The thing I got closest to pulling the trigger was a very worn (but otherwise problem free) 1853 A&R Seated Quarter. I was trying to avoid Barber coins because...well...they're pretty easy to get for $7 and I wanted something different. Then, at a dealer's table I saw them: 1912-D V Nickels. In VG it's about a $5 coin and I thought, this would be cool, I don't own any V Nickels and this is the first nickel made at a branch mint. Well, unfortunately, the table I was only had grainy or scratched ones. I looked through 4-5 dealers' inventory of 12-D Nickels and didn't find one problem free piece in my budget. I did find a number of VFish 1883 NC Nickels though...

In the end I didn't buy anything. I was sort of discouraged by the lack of problem free 12-D Nickels at a 50+ table show. I did learn more than I do usually when I go to shows. I learned that large cents have to be cleaned, dinged, bent, and holed before they are under $10. I also learned that for $20 my options would have been 10 times higher, but for some reason it was really fun trying to find something "cool" for under 7 bucks. Maybe next time I'll actually buy something...

Cheers,
B

mcheath

Thats a cool idea. Im surprised you couldn't find any MODERNS for $7 though.

rmpsrpms

I'd buy a roll of 1957D Lincolns and look for doubled dies and RPM's!!

fc

i would have bought a seated half dollar. 7 bucks is just enough
over melt you could have found a damage free pocket piece.

mirabela

You could get some killer early Jeffersons for $7, if the right people are there.

ScarsdaleCoin

I think a really good used coin book or some sort of token might have been a good pickup

Cladiator

<< <i> What $7 will buy you at a coin show >>

Entry.

goose3

<< <i>Thats a cool idea. Im surprised you couldn't find any MODERNS for $7 though. >>



that's what he was spending!

dogwood

A nice 1928S or D SLQ in Fine plus comes at about $7. Almost bought a pretty one at Penninsula Show yesterday. Looked through a big ole box for ten minutes just to look. I let myself bring a crispy C-note to spend but didn't spend a dime. No Barber halves for my set come that cheap, so I looked for a nice Bust Quarter. Nothing.

asin

A hotdog and a coke

MidLifeCrisis

<< <i>I think a really good used coin book or some sort of token might have been a good pickup >>


I agree with this.

I've never tried, but it seems to me you could pick up a nice Conder, Hard Times or even Civil War token for under $7. Seems like your experiment was a great learning experience though.

Newcomp103

Many common date Buffalo nickels can still be had in Fine grade for around $7.00.

Kareemofwheat

Parking?

Boom

Some nice Deep Cameo Proof sets can be had for $7. Good idea though.

ChuckC

Bought a lovely 1946-D 1c blazer for $7.

Athena

I'm sure some decent Mercury Dimes can be had for seven dollars or less!

TwoSides2aCoin

<< <i>Parking? >>



I have to go with this answer(question). It's only six dollars in Omaha and I want to thank "doh" for the story. It's a good read.

Millertime

At the last coin show I went to with my son he found (5) Australian pennies for his album for about $5 total. It seems like they were in the range of 1917 to 1940. He usually has between 10 and 20 bucks for the shows and comes out with a handful of stuff that he's happy with, which is all that really counts.

Millertime

lathmach

A few years ago I bought an XF 1843 Seated Quarter for $7.
Really.

Ray

ad4400

Over the past year I've made two $7 purchases at shows. Last show I picked up a steel cent. About a year ago I picked up a WWII nickel. Both were actually a great deal of fun. Typically I don't have ten or a dozen + examples to choose from at a dealers table, so being over to pick over a high number of examples at low cost was a very refreshing change.

Cgb

From what I have observed recently $7 just might get you a hot dog, or a bag of pretzels.

Coxe

I think I'd spend time looking over Jefferson and Buffalo nickels for RPDs and RPMs, oh and maybe 5 or 6 step Jeffs of the 50s and 60s. If the budget was $25 or so, I'd hit the circ 3 cent nickels and shield nickels looking for clashes, cuds, RPDs, DDOs and DDRs.

Coinosaurus

<< <i>A few years ago I bought an XF 1843 Seated Quarter for $7.
Really.

Ray >>



Good job. Wanna double your money

MORGANHUNTER2

Cup o coffee and a glazed donut?

Burks

I've done something similar before. I had $15 with me and needed to get $10 in gas. Entry to the show was free as well as parking. Searched for two hours at a 25-30 table show and walked away with a XF Walker that I didn't have, it was problem free as well.

Can't complain too much about that purchase! But even within 3 months the stuff for under $10 went from a good amount to nearly nothing. A common date large cent that was holed three times was still listed at $15.

It's a fun game to play but the odds of winning are baaaaad.

ccmorgan

A package of condoms would be worth much more than $7. Oh wait it was a coin show...

messydesk

It wouldn't even buy you a parking space at shows in Rosemont, IL.

Bear

I got a hot dog and a coke once , for $7.

tightbudget

I remember for that world coin show in NYC in January at the Waldorf, parking was $50. $7 would not have even paid for the entry fee. Inside though, some nice ancient coins could be had for that amount of money though.

Artist

<< <i>I got a hot dog and a coke once , for $7. >>



That couldn't have been Long Beach, Bear, for there $7.00 would have only got you the Coke.

*

When I go to shows I rarely buy anything - except books, and usually a magnifier since I inevitably left mine on the counter at home.

mr1931S

"A nice 1928S or D SLQ in Fine plus comes at about $7." Good choice.

Two nice no-problem full LIBERTY IH cents could be bought for about $7 I would think.

AnkurJ

Parsippany Coin Show:
Parking: Free
Entry: Free
Being able to spend $7 on just coins: priceless

airplanenut

My AU 1859 IHC had a $7 price tag. My mom bought it for me in 1997... back when $7 was enough for me to mull it over and realize it was too expensive.

tightbudget

<< <i>My AU 1859 IHC had a $7 price tag. My mom bought it for me in 1997... back when $7 was enough for me to mull it over and realize it was too expensive. >>



Yeah, I remember it was up to when I was ten when I thought that $5 was a lot of money. Serious, having a $5 as a 10 year old would've made me feel rich.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>What $7 will buy you at a coin show >>

Barely a hotdog and a soda, if you're lucky!

Oh, there are other possibilities, particularly if you're willing to play the pick bins on the Darkside, in the World & Ancient coins. I once picked up an English 13th-century medieval silver penny of Edward I "Longshanks" (the king who was fictionalized as the villain in the "Braveheart" movie)... for five bucks. And it was a Canterbury mint issue, too, rather than a more common London issue. Of course it was poorly struck and not the best looking hammered silver penny around, but... hey... five bucks.

The 3-ring binders can be fun, but I find myself drawn more to the exonumia at shows these days. You can pick up some nifty counterstamps and even a love token or two (though the latter are more often in the $10-20 range). There are often some cool old tokens and medals that can be had for seven bucks or less.

And if you're into "holey" coins like I am, well, there are lots of affordable possibilities. The trouble with my Holey Coin Vest project, though, is that I have pretty much advanced to the point where the only holey coins I need are scarce and expensive, even holed (Bust dollar, gold, etc.)

Overdate

I was wondering what kind of a "starter set" you might be able to buy for $7.00 (aside from common pocket change).

Here's what I came up with (mostly lower grade):

Indian head cent $1.25
1943 steel cent $0.10
Liberty nickel $1.00
Buffalo nickel $0.75
Barber dime $1.25
Mercury dime $1.10
Bicentennial Quarter $0.35
Ike Dollar $1.20

Total $7.00

lordmarcovan

Shoot, I could sell an ancient Roman coin plus three other coins, all of them over a century old, for seven bucks. There's the beauty of the Darkside.