Made an offer at a coin show and came out way ahead

Jinx86

A family whos Grandfather had passed away was walking though the coin show with a dolly full of albums and 2x2 boxes. They were looking for a buy, dealers were offering 8-12 bucks a pound and melt for the silver. So they asked one of my coin club members who was at the door who was a good buyer for world coins. He handed them my card and I just happened to be at the show(not looking to buy world coins). I took them into the waiting area and looked through the books, mostly common date stuck but there were a few better pieces. They had shown me a few of the better silver pieces they said the rest was common and would sell at melt. So I dont like to make offers on collections nore have I ever done so. I did quick math, thinking I was being honest on what I saw and knowing they had walked it all through the show getting offers from dealers. Gave them the dollar amount I was willing to pay, I dont think that elderly lady was ready for that. She said it was twice as high as the best offer she had gotten.

Looking at what I bought I keep finding more great coins, key dates, au/bu pieces, killer type coins. I dont think I did anything too wrong by buying it at the show, since I left the bourse floor to do so. Most of the local dealers treat me as a vest pocket dealer any ways( a term I learned on this forum). Tempted to mail them a check, but I dont feel guilty about the price I paid.

Heres a quick list of what I found so far. These coins are not for sale and are part of my collection now.
Cuba 1932 20 Cent XF+
Spain 1869 Pesta VF
Mauritius 1877 20 Cent VF
Denmark 1702 8 Skilling
Denmark 1765 24 Skilling
Norway 1915 2 Kroner AU

And one piece in the whole collection from China. Not sure 100% on it so far but I think 1908 China 50 Cent, kind of a weak strike on the rims. I may have to post pics to get the forums perspective on what it is.

Pokermandude

Sounds like it was a good deal for both you and the seller I wouldn't feel guilty that you found a few nice pieces in there, as it sounds like you paid a good/fair price. Especially considering that it was more than double the next best offer.

I had a similar purchase last summer of a large group of small denomination German States and other world coins. I found a few very nice coins in the lot, but it did take hours of my time to search and catalogue them all. And hours more to conserve them with acetone, as most had at least some tape residue on them.

The link to the pictures from that lot used to be in my signature, but the image site hosting those pics is still down I will upload them to a new home one day.

lordmarcovan

Sounds like some fun Darkside cherrypickin'. I've always enjoyed it. It's time consuming and laborious, but if you're passionate enough about it and willing to take the time, it can feel like a real treasure hunt at times. The occasional monetary windfall is nice, but probably the biggest thing I reaped during my Darkside bulk lot pickin' days was education. I picked up history, geography, languages including a fair smattering of Latin, and a bit of art and culture along the way. It was almost like an inexpensive scholarship except I was the one who got paid instead of some school.

YQQ

It is always a good thing if one gets lucky without having to spend a small fortune.....