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I was Humbled yesterday in a coin shop.
Fairlaneman
Posts: 10,428 ✭✭✭✭✭
Took a little road trip yesterday to look at some Ford Fairlane parts that a guy in Clarkson, WA. had. My travel time got me there 3 hours early so I decided to go over to a coin shop in Lewiston, ID.
Rang the buzzer and the owner let me in. The first thing he said, as usual, was what are you looking for. I responded AU Mercury dimes for a set. He dug out a tray and I looked at a couple of dates that were priced in the AU range. The first was a 25S that had been cleaned so I put it back without making any COMMENT. The second was a 24S that was a OK coin but just did not have the look I wanted, again NO COMMENT.
After looking at the first tray he brought out a book of dimes. The dates a really wanted were lower grade but a couple of the coins struck my fancy. After a few minutes I asked him for a price on 2 of the coins, again with NO COMMENT. He took the book and proceded to look at the 2 I picked out. In the mean time I went to his case of slabbed coins and DID COMMENT that all he had was gold.
Well I guess the COMMENT about only gold just set this guy off. Immediately he came back with " Why would anyone collect this junk when gold is available" while pointing to the Merc dime book. Then he hit me with the 28S is MS60 atleast and you think its AU. Where did that come from? I made NO COMMENT about any of the dimes. After the MS60 statement he said I did not know how to grade and that I was useing a loupe that did not have enough power to grade coins correctly. His guess at the loupe power was 3 power when it was actually 5 power which is what I have used for years. Still at this point I made NO COMMENT because he shoved the book at me and said to look at the 28S.
Well I looked at the 28S and told him in my eyes the coin was AU and showed some wear. Not much wear but it did show. Then he told me again that I better learn how to grade coins and that he had been at this game for 40 years. Now I made a COMMENT. I told this guy to send the coin to PCGS or NGC and if the coin came back MS I would pay for the submission and the time. Boy that was the wrong thing to do. Immediately out of his mouth came I do not need PCGS or NGC to help me grade coins.
At this point I made another COMMENT. YES YOU DO!!!!
Anyway the guy got none of my money and never will. Just another PUTZ to put on the never visit again list. For the life of me I cannot figure out why the guy was like he was.
It was a great day otherwise.
Ken
Rang the buzzer and the owner let me in. The first thing he said, as usual, was what are you looking for. I responded AU Mercury dimes for a set. He dug out a tray and I looked at a couple of dates that were priced in the AU range. The first was a 25S that had been cleaned so I put it back without making any COMMENT. The second was a 24S that was a OK coin but just did not have the look I wanted, again NO COMMENT.
After looking at the first tray he brought out a book of dimes. The dates a really wanted were lower grade but a couple of the coins struck my fancy. After a few minutes I asked him for a price on 2 of the coins, again with NO COMMENT. He took the book and proceded to look at the 2 I picked out. In the mean time I went to his case of slabbed coins and DID COMMENT that all he had was gold.
Well I guess the COMMENT about only gold just set this guy off. Immediately he came back with " Why would anyone collect this junk when gold is available" while pointing to the Merc dime book. Then he hit me with the 28S is MS60 atleast and you think its AU. Where did that come from? I made NO COMMENT about any of the dimes. After the MS60 statement he said I did not know how to grade and that I was useing a loupe that did not have enough power to grade coins correctly. His guess at the loupe power was 3 power when it was actually 5 power which is what I have used for years. Still at this point I made NO COMMENT because he shoved the book at me and said to look at the 28S.
Well I looked at the 28S and told him in my eyes the coin was AU and showed some wear. Not much wear but it did show. Then he told me again that I better learn how to grade coins and that he had been at this game for 40 years. Now I made a COMMENT. I told this guy to send the coin to PCGS or NGC and if the coin came back MS I would pay for the submission and the time. Boy that was the wrong thing to do. Immediately out of his mouth came I do not need PCGS or NGC to help me grade coins.
At this point I made another COMMENT. YES YOU DO!!!!
Anyway the guy got none of my money and never will. Just another PUTZ to put on the never visit again list. For the life of me I cannot figure out why the guy was like he was.
It was a great day otherwise.
Ken
0
Comments
<< <i>" Why would anyone collect this junk when gold is available" while pointing to the Merc dime book. >>
So he was calling his own coins junk? You're right, he's a yutz.
<< <i>
<< <i>" Why would anyone collect this junk when gold is available" while pointing to the Merc dime book. >>
So he was calling his own coins junk? You're right, he's a yutz. >>
Along with all of the other stuff he had that was not gold. Odd.
Ken
That's some hill decent getting down into Lewiston. Beautiful country from what I remember. So I hope you enjoyed your drive....
<< <i>" Why would anyone collect this junk when gold is available" >>
Obviously he’s not much of coin expert if he thinks that only coins of merit or value are gold pieces. I’ll admit that my most valuable coin is a gold piece, an 1808 quarter eagle, but not far behind is a 1792 half disme. The melt value of the half disme is probably about 60 cents or so, but since it was made from silver donated by George Washington, I’ll wager that it’s collector value is a little more than that.
From the north yes it is and what a view. I came from the west though...
Ken
Tiger trout, Deerfield River, c. 2001.
WS
coin shop in Leswiston, ID
<< <i>That’s one of the reasons this hobby is “growing” by leaps and bounds!! >>
I agree with this. I was lucky enough to have two great shops when I was starting collecting. If I had ran into this character
I probably would have never started with coins. Unfortunetly the last of the good local shops are gone, they seem to be all turning into places to sell your scrap gold with coins as an afterthought.
<< <i>Maybe it's me, but COMMENTING that this fellow is incapable of correctly grading his own coins doesn't sound very humble. But that's just me. >>
Only after getting trashed about my grading skills, getting a little hot under the collar for something that I could not figure out and getting asked to grade the 28S did I say anything about grades, cleaning or the like. The guy asked me to grade the 28S. He had a opinion and I had a opinion which was asked for. Heck all I wanted from him was a price.
BTW the only people I have question grades is PCGS and NGC. Never have I told a coin dealer that he needed more grading skills. In the same light I think dealers should keep quiet also unless they can tell that the person is a total newbie.
Ken
<< <i>If this is our man, than why not leave a comment for him here.
WS
coin shop in Leswiston, ID >>
TEE HEE....... Just relaying a story now. The collar has cooled off and putting a message up would do nothing I believe.
Ken
I knew it would happen.
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
pulling out a loupe is probably his signal to know he is not dealing with a chump he
can rip a new one.
typical coin store in my opinion. very few I have ever been in give me a good feeling.
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<< <i>Sounds like he was insulted by the idea of a customer who actually knew what he was doing... >>
You could be right. In the past year or so when I have went into new shops or shops I visit only once in awhile they seem amazed when I pull the loupe out to look at coins. Its like "Geez you actually want to see what the coin looks like".
Ken
It just is one more piece of data that confirms for me that 75% of the B%M stores are there to fleece the unsuspecting and that knowledgable collectors intimidate them. I understand everyone has to make a living, but you make ZERO dollars from someone you have run off. Reasonable people can disagree without getting personal.
FYI, you still have the eye for Mercs in my opinion after 8 years here.
Given the quoted dialog, that should have occurred hourly....!
pocket to look at a coin he got out of the case for me, like it was an insult.
I immediately asked him if he ever buys a raw coin that someone brings in without putting a glass to it?
No response.
I already knew the answer because I had been in this shop before when someone brought some
coins to sell. I just chalked it up to someone having a bad day, We all have them
I've had the same experience when pulling out a loupe...they assume I'm a cherrypicker when, in reality, I'm a middle aged guy who can't see worth a damn!!!
I would expect to see a dry cleaner in his space in a year.
I really don't understand some people. He must be doing a booming business in bullion to not care about, and in fact to insult, a collector.
A coin dealer should never ever be so defensive that he drives customers away. It simply indicates that he's not happy doing what he's doing and will eventually fold up his tent.
The name is LEE!
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
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<< <i>Your experience is typical. Small B&M dealers are usually a waste of time. >>
Actually this is not typical in this region. This is the very first time anything like this has happened to me since 1981. The only other experiences that even comes close to this was 2 selling experiences and both of those guys had a much better attitude than this guy. They just wanted too low ball the heck out of you. For the most part I really enjoy small B&M shops.
I'm betting this guy will be in business untill he decides to ouit. The Lewiston, Clarkson, Asotin and the area up the Snake River to Heller Bar is growing with retired people coming to spend their last years in a beautiful place. I saw no sign of a recession here.
Ken
Everyone today has seen gold go to record highs. Well I seen it go from $850 (1980?) to around $300 an ounce (1982,85) too!
Thats a greater than $500 per ounce drop.
Krueger
<< <i>His successs will be directly correlated to his Karma.
I would expect to see a dry cleaner in his space in a year. >>
The vast majority of cases, though, have been positive - or if they did start out as described above, they have turned out OK after a few moments of pleasantries being exchanged.
I've always attributed the less-than-positive attitudes on the nature of the business. A certain amount of appraisal of the new and unfamiliar person walking in the door is simply a survival mechanism - robbery, shoplifting and other concerns taking precedence over immediate acceptance. I can live with that.
Now, having stood at the counter (on both sides) at my old friends' coin shop, I can empathize first hand with a small amount of reticence on the coin shop owners' part. But I do think that the more successful merchants get past the butt-sniffing thing pretty quickly, and are then willing to get down to business in a pleasant manner.
The subject of the OP, however, sounds like a dick.
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Maybe he is worried he can't dump the gold before it takes a hit and he will be stuck wit a loss.
In any case, he is the one who loses in the long run. I don't know of any business that can send away customers and come out on top.
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Here is a LINK to a youtube video of a grumpy old guy who obviously likes the Palouse, but not so much the development that is occurring in the area.
Are Colton and Uniontown still there?
I believe the plant is still there or atleast a log mill is still there. The northwest has really cleaned up the stench that came from paper mills. Back in the 70's Tacoma, WA., Albany, OR., Wallula, WA and Lewiston, ID had a smell that was really hard to take and would wake you up when you got close. Since then the areas have lost their bad smell and now are almost completely clean.
Ken
I would rather buy raw coins but you always run into the grade issue. A common date au merc dime is just worth melt on resell to any dealer and easy money for the dealer to sell. He gets ms money for a coin he paid melt for.
With Pcgs or Ngc coins you generally get to a more mutual price point to start with.
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