A theoretical coin show contest

abitofthisabitofthat

PCGS has a grading contest for collectors to play along and guess the grade that the experts have assigned to a group of coins. I think it is a great idea, and is fun and educational to those who participate.

Here is a hypothetical contest of another sort. A group of collectors are each given $10,000 at the start of the ANA show in Philly. They have until the end of the show to flip coins. Buy and sell. The rules would be no bullion, and no modern mint products. You have to spend the $10K on coins, and then you have to sell everything before the end of the ANA. You can flip as many times as you can during the show. Whoever ends with the most cash wins.

How do you think that you would do? I know that most collectors do not look at this hobby as a money-making proposition, and certainly not flipping coins during a single show, but I think that it would be educational to many people to give it a try. How good is your eye? Do you know a bargain when you see one? Do you know who is high buyer for particular material?

Eventually, most collectors sell their coins, or their heirs do. Getting an education about selling can make one a more astute buyer.

So, would you participate if this contest existed? Would you be able to turn a profit? Make a killing? Lose your shirt? What would you buy?

Ahrensdad

Sounds fun.

lasvegasteddy

selling at a show

i have zero experience...not sure i want it either
sorry but that sounds like drama in the making

who could buy the best value according to price guide...yeah i may play

selling to dealers at a show...good to luck...perhaps though
i could do the buying and have a tight blonde girly friend in a bikini do my selling

TomB

Ahhh...quantitative easing comes to a coin show near you.

tradedollarnut

When I was in high school, I made $1200 in one weekend doing just that. Back then, that was significant money. There were no grading services so all you had to do was buy a high end coin from one dealer as an unc and convince another that it was a gem. Again and again.

coinkat

It sounds like fun but it also seems to have consequences that would ultimately make for some reading that would overwise be avoided-

Billet7

Sounds like fun.

I do that with every local show I go to (usually with less money.) Course I'm also looking for coins that fit my personal collection, but I'm always on the lookout for the underpriced coin that I can sell in order to fund more of my personal collection.

LindeDad

Let me see if I get this right your giving a group of people $10,000 each so they can go out and try to make more money and the loser is the one that makes the least.
This could almost be a government program I guess Coin Dealer Support maybe like some of the others that are in place now.

Now if you reword it that the dealers fund their own buy in and the prize at the end is they take home a profit then it's a normal show.

rec78

I wonder how many participants would just take the $10,000 and run.

keyman64

I would live to do something like this. For me, the effort would all be based on my Cherrypicking that day.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>A group of collectors are each given $10,000 at the start of the ANA show in Philly. >>

Who gives them the money? What happens when (not if) participants end up not having sold all the coins they bought or have less money than they started with?

LindeDad

<< <i>I wonder how many participants would just take the $10,000 and run. >>



Terrible day lost my .............

abitofthisabitofthat

<< <i>

<< <i>A group of collectors are each given $10,000 at the start of the ANA show in Philly. >>

Who gives them the money? What happens when (not if) participants end up not having sold all the coins they bought or have less money than they started with? >>



This is not something that I am thinking of doing. It is merely an mental excercise. I don't think anything like this could ever be done in practice - too many variables and too many ways to cheat.

I was just curious if folks thought they would be able to cherrypick varieties and resell at a profit. Or buy undergraded coins, run them through same day grading with our hosts, and sell the upgraded coins for a profit. Or any one of many other strategies.


edit - spelling

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>This is not something that I am thinking of doing. It is merely an mental excercise. >>

Fair enough. I guess I was just confused when you posed the question as though it was something real:

"So, would you participate if this contest existed?"

lcoopie

I would need a new shirt

seanq

I have faith in my cherrypicking abilities, but I think my best chance to win would be keeping the $10,000 in my pocket for the entire show and watching the others lose money.


Sean Reynolds