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treated by dealer

share your stories of bad or good experiances with dealers.
Taylor
Just do it.
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  • BoosibriBoosibri Posts: 11,841 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>share your stories of bad or good experiances with dealers.
    Taylor >>



    Lets keep the responses positive please.
  • TetromibiTetromibi Posts: 940 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edit: just reread posting rules, that might be considered vulgar. I'll just leave this here...

    Rule 5) If you have nothing to contribute to an OP then do not post. Snide remarks and other negative comments will result in your losing your ability to post. No more warnings.


    back to topic, I'm interested in dealer stories as well. I had an awesome one in SC when I was a kid. He always took time to educated me, even though I wouldn't be responsible for any large sales.
  • jmcu12jmcu12 Posts: 2,452 ✭✭✭
    Not to hijack the thread - but perhaps to save it.....

    How about people chime in on what they think their ideal dealer would be like? The antithesis is therefore implied.
    Awarded latest "YOU SUCK!": June 11, 2014
  • sparky64sparky64 Posts: 7,025 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ok Taylor, I have a positive one.
    I used to frequent a coin shop and was famous for buying lots of poor coins.
    The 'ol quantity over quality theory.
    One day out of the blue the dealer pulls me aside and says that he has something I might like.

    image

    I was a little uneasy walking out with just one coin but he got me stared down the correct path.
    It's not a world class CBH but still my favorite none the less.

    ......and image Tetromibi.

    "If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"

    My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress

  • When I was about 8 yrs old, I used to go to a show in Mt Holly NJ -- I think at a firehouse (i dont know if anyone is from around there and can correct me). There was an old smokey man I think without a full set of teeth who I think went by Uncle something or Cousin Something's coins .. I used to look through his junk silver and copper. But to this day I still have some VG Flying Eagle cents that he pretty much gave away to me. Not that they are huge coins or anything, but as a little kid to have a penny from the 1850's WOW -- and to see that it may have been worth $5 or $8 bucks! even better.

    Now I have a dealer that I have been going to for about 5 years now. Nice guy, has been in the game a long time and always shoots the $hit with me. He always lets me pick through his silver coins and often times chops a few bucks off his asking prices -- without me asking, even when his prices are very fair compared to the market.

    I have some negative dealer experiences, but I am pretty much 1 and done ... if someone acts like they are doing me a favor by trying to overcharge .. there will be another dealer ... there will be other coins.

    I remember my dad always saying to me ... there is going to be another coin ...
    Eric
  • MoldnutMoldnut Posts: 3,082 ✭✭✭✭
    I have a local dealer here in southern California. He had a member from his church come in with a plastic sandwich bag full of coins for him to look at. Upon looking at a few he noticed that they were just a bunch of beat up mercury, buffalos, Washington quarters and the like. As his hopes faded and he was going to tell his customer about his coins he noticed what looked like a fairly nice circulated Barber quarter. He noticed that it was dated 1901! He flipped the coin over to see if it was a Philly and to his surprise there was that little "s" in all its glory.
    Mind you, this guy who brought in the bag of coins knew nothing about coins.
    Wow, the Barber was a perfect VG10! The dealer sent the coin to PCGS where it did grade VG10 and the happy customer received a nice check for what I remember was around $9,000.
    The customer would have been happy just to get $50 for the bag of coins but this honest dealer (as most are) told him about his lucky find and all parties went home happy as could be.

    True story.
    Derek

    EAC 6024
  • When I was 10 or 11 years old, I'd ride my bike to the local smoke filled coin shop. The dealer was wonderful about educating us with regards to how to grade a coin, which to buy/collect, which to avoid. He was a pipe chain smoker and kept all of his coins under glass. One day I went to his shop with two of my friends, and unbeknownst to me, they were attempting to steal rolls of mercury dimes, while I was unknowingly keeping him busy with conversation. As I noticed one of my "friends" slipping coins into his pocket, I yelled out: Stop, you're stealing. He retrieved the coins, a roll of uncirculated mercury's, and gave it to me as a reward. I went on to buy and trade many many coins with him, and I really wish there were still shops such as his nowadays.
  • TookybanditTookybandit Posts: 3,410 ✭✭✭✭
    I have had 99% positive experiences! Most of my best have been at shows. If you find a grumpy dealer, you can always move on to the next one! Patience is the key!
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭
    When I was a poor college student in Detroit, working my way through because my parents could not afford to send me anywhere, I used to sometimes go downtown after classes and visit the coin shops. Earl Schill had a shop behind Hudsons. He knew I was a student without money, but if there were no customers in the store he would let me look at things like bust dollars and turban gold.

    A fine gentleman!

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • CatbertCatbert Posts: 6,549 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The best experiences I've had with dealers were characterized by those who had quality inventory, reasonable pricing, excellent communication, and commitment to buy back what they sold. They also shared knowledge to help me in my learning efforts. Mark Feld and Tom Bush are two that demonstrated these qualities, but there are certainly others. I also know I've private messaged a few who post on this board who've also been excellent advisors to me when I've had questions about potential purchases outside of their inventory.

    I really can't say I've had a bad experience yet and that may be either because I've been lucky or because I take ownership for the purchasing mistakes I've made. Part of building a good collection and to avoid unpleasant experiences is to do business with reputable dealers.
    "Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 43,796 ✭✭✭✭✭
    When I was a young man, old dealers scared me. Now that I'm an old man, young dealers scare me. image

  • ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,412 ✭✭✭✭✭
    For those here who don't know about it, I had been looking for a Heraldic Eagle Bust $ that was problem free in the AU grade range for eight years. I looked at between 150 and 200 coins and found three that I liked, all of which imo were overpriced. The rest, I'll be polite, and say they didn't meet my standards.

    My Heritage rep sent me an e-mail, saying he found my coin. I've known him for quite some time, and he sent it over. He described it perfectly, knew it was exactly what I was looking for, and sold it to me for what I thought was a reasonable price. I'd still be looking for one if it wasn't for him. As busy as he is, he went out of his way to basically do me a favor.
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
  • braddickbraddick Posts: 22,995 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There's a dealer who specializes in Franklin and Kennedy halves that would place a mint in the coin package he'd send.

    Thought that was cool.

    peacockcoins

  • LogPotatoLogPotato Posts: 2,172 ✭✭✭✭
    I'll post my most recent positive. I was perusing Glenn Holsonbake's site the other day. I had my eye on this particular coin for a few days, and I decided to just add it to the cart and checkout. I went through the whole dance, and I get an email the next day from Glenn. He had the coin with him at the New Orleans show and said he was shipping it from the show. I thought that was pretty cool.
  • pennyanniepennyannie Posts: 3,929 ✭✭✭
    I had a indian head cent in pcgs 66 red. I was walking the aisles of a coin show and a dealer asked me if i had anything for sale. I handed him the indian head cent and he whipps out his grey sheet and after a minute says he is a buyer at 160 dollars. I said i was surprised that the coin was not worth more, he said the grey sheet bid was 140 and ask was 160 and since it was a nice coin he would go ahead and pay me the "ask" money. I asked to look at his grey sheet and he informed me that only dealers could look at the prices as greysheet was a price guide that ONLY select dealers that had passed ethics courses could get. The odinary joe could not get a copy of grey sheet.

    So i whipped out my grey sheet and informed him that mine only went to ms 65 and he priced my coin at 63 brown money and was off by 100 and 100's of dollars.

    He flunked his ethics test.

    I was at the TNA money show in fort worth 2 years back and spotted a common date Liberty V-nickel in NGC ms 63 and asked to look at it. He gave me a song and dance on the coin being an actual 66 and not a 63 so he priced it at 66 money. What struck me as funny was his table was less than 20 feet from the NGC table. I offered to send the coin thru NGC on a double or nothing price. If the coin came back a 63 or lower it would be free and if it was 66 i would pay double the average auction price for a common 66. He would not play the game. It was his coin and he could ask anything he wants but to claim it was a 66 was more than a little bit of a stretch.
    Mark
    NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
    working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!

    RIP "BEAR"
  • WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 6,696 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I was just staring my job in Downtown DC and there was a dealer who had a shop at my bus top. I got aquatinted with him and he always managed to work out a lay away plan for me to get those last few tough cents at $5 every 2 weeks payment.

    WS
    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
  • AnkurJAnkurJ Posts: 11,366 ✭✭✭✭
    I have had outstanding experiences with:
    Bozarth Numismatics
    Ricky Beale of 900 Fine coins
    J&H Coins
    Larry Greenstone aka SeaEagleCoins(may he rest in peace)
    JJ Teaparty
    David Lawrence
    Legend Numismatics
    Heritage
    Sheridan Downey
    Eye Appealing Coins

    All coins kept in bank vaults.
    PCGS Registries
    Box of 20
    SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have had one or two bad experiences but 10 times more good ones.

    I'll just share one about Mark Feld. I made his acquaintance after doing a few deals with him over the Internet. We met up at a Long Beach show and I asked him to preview a 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar for me that was at another dealer's table. I was itching for one bad and my experience in early dollars at that point was pretty lean (only slightly better now). Before going to take a look, he spent several minutes with me reviewing the sheets, Heritage auction records, and a couple of other pricing guides to establish a fair ballpark value at the grade I was looking for. I sat there and twiddled my thumbs while he floated over to take a look. He came back and said "You can do better" and gave me a crash course about the good, bad, and the ugly of FH dollars in that grade range.

    A few weeks later I get an e-mail from him out of the blue about a coin he had spotted on a site that I'd never visited previously. He arranged to have the coin shipped to him for an in-hand inspection. He approved and overnighted it to me for a looksie. Next to the coin I had been looking at, this one was full of so much character. I knew it wasn't going back. I tracked the coin down here on the forum and found out that it started with Dave Hall (Small Town Coins). He told me a great story about a guy who brought it in to the shop in his pocket with loose change! Dave had held on to the 1981 ANACS photocertificate that the old man whipped out of his back pocket when asked about its authenticity. Dave forwarded that to me for no charge.

    On the whole deal Mark probably made a few bucks. Dave hopefully made a fair profit on his original transaction. I got a great coin and, more importantly, the education that went along with the experience.

    Most dealers are like this. This kind of stuff is what the hobby is about.
  • darktonedarktone Posts: 8,437 ✭✭✭
    I was at one of the big Chicago shows 7-8 years back and a dealer had some coins in his case I wanted to look at. I asked to see them and he said I could not afford them and he was not goining to let me look at them!? I said okay and took a good look at the name above his table and decided I would just skip his table from now on. This was the first time I met this dealer and the coins were in the $300-$1,000 range. I was pretty upset after I thought about it. Anyway's I forgot all about it until a few months later when he contacted me on ebay asking me to sell him coins by adding a buy it now price. I told him he could not afford it! Boy did that feel good! He explained to me how he was a big dealer and he could easily afford it. I told him how he treated me and that he deserved the same. image
  • ColonelJessupColonelJessup Posts: 6,442 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Both Stacks and Heritage have treated me to dinner. I didn't even have to show my bidding paddle to get in line.image
    "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - Geo. Orwell
  • Type2Type2 Posts: 13,985 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I can only rember the one bad one. I was at a table at Long beach and told a dealer. If i tell you some thing will you still sell me one of the coins i pick for the same price. He says yes so i show him 3-1914/3 Buffalos 1 in AU 2 in VF he took a look at them and told me they are no longer for sale. Thats when i said I'll never tell a dealer what i find again so now i pick away and never tell them anything......... image


    Hoard the keys.
  • SoCalBigMarkSoCalBigMark Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Mike @ About Rare Coins in Chino California would talk and teach me for hours as a newb, thanks Mike!
  • Type2Type2 Posts: 13,985 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Mark Does Mike ever go by there any more?


    Hoard the keys.
  • TireKickerTireKicker Posts: 870 ✭✭
    As for great dealers I have found Angel Dees to be absolutely outstanding!
    All the best,

    Rob

    image

    Successful Trades with: Coincast, MICHAELDIXON

    Successful Purchases from: Manorcourtman, Meltdown
  • SoCalBigMarkSoCalBigMark Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Mark Does Mike ever go by there any more? >>



    Not so much...
  • PrillerPriller Posts: 111 ✭✭
    The bad:

    1) It was 1988 and I had a raw $2.5 Indian, it was the only coin of value I had. I wanted to have it slabbed. I took the coin to a shop and they processed the paper work for the submission. As I walked to the door, one of the guys said to the other "more wasted money!". Loud enough to make sure I heard. Other than to pickup my coin, I never set foot in that store again.

    2) Fast forward a couple of years and I had acquired a couple of other raw gold pieces. I walked into the coin store of a Northern Virginia dealer whose name would be familiar to many, to see if they did submissions. I was also in the mood to look at their inventory and intended to make a purchase, if I found something nice. There were two guys in the store talking around the counter, I assume one customer and the owner/salesman. As soon as I asked if they did submissions, the one shouted out "buy the coin, not the holder!". Both broke out into laughter. Needless to say I walked out of the store, never to return. Degrading and laughing at a customer is no way to run a business.

    So, based on my experiences, I formed the opinion that many coin dealers have zero concept of customer service and should not be running a business.

    Today I am more than happy to deal with Doug Winter or Mark Feld. But other than that, I tend to stick with Heritage/SB/LM.
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I have had one or two bad experiences but 10 times more good ones.

    I'll just share one about Mark Feld. I made his acquaintance after doing a few deals with him over the Internet. We met up at a Long Beach show and I asked him to preview a 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar for me that was at another dealer's table. I was itching for one bad and my experience in early dollars at that point was pretty lean (only slightly better now). Before going to take a look, he spent several minutes with me reviewing the sheets, Heritage auction records, and a couple of other pricing guides to establish a fair ballpark value at the grade I was looking for. I sat there and twiddled my thumbs while he floated over to take a look. He came back and said "You can do better" and gave me a crash course about the good, bad, and the ugly of FH dollars in that grade range.

    A few weeks later I get an e-mail from him out of the blue about a coin he had spotted on a site that I'd never visited previously. He arranged to have the coin shipped to him for an in-hand inspection. He approved and overnighted it to me for a looksie. Next to the coin I had been looking at, this one was full of so much character. I knew it wasn't going back. I tracked the coin down here on the forum and found out that it started with Dave Hall (Small Town Coins). He told me a great story about a guy who brought it in to the shop in his pocket with loose change! Dave had held on to the 1981 ANACS photocertificate that the old man whipped out of his back pocket when asked about its authenticity. Dave forwarded that to me for no charge.

    On the whole deal Mark probably made a few bucks. Dave hopefully made a fair profit on his original transaction. I got a great coin and, more importantly, the education that went along with the experience.

    Most dealers are like this. This kind of stuff is what the hobby is about. >>



    And that, unfortunately, is why people put coins in slabs, to protect them from people like that. How did the coin look compared to ourn old ANACS photo? Any impairment from the mis-handling?

    What was the old grade, and what did it slab at?

    TD
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,722 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The coin graded PCGS F12 and didn't look any different than in the photo cert. I'm of the impression that he brought it into the shop in his pocket but didn't really carry it as a pocket piece. There was no grade listed on the photocert.
  • astroratastrorat Posts: 9,221 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've had far more positive experiences than negative. Then again, a negative experience with a dealer and I move on not to repeat the same mistake.

    Back when I taught numismatics at UT-Austin, Fred Weinberg spent a lot of time with me and helped me refine my knowledge of errors and the minting process. He was gracious with his time and made sure I was able to pick up some nice examples for class at far more than reasonable prices (he even donated coins to give to the students). All this with no expectation of anything in return. Also ... few dealers I know are as patient with naive collectors at a show than Fred. He earns his sainthood every show!

    I recall one Christmas receiving a large package from Harlan J. Berk. Surprised, as I didn't recall ordering anything that would be shipped in a package that large, I opened it up and smiled as the fine folks in Chicago sent me a tin of cookies! Great coins, great service, great cookies! Thanks, Tom and Harlan!

    I have also had great experiences with David Kahn; what a true gentleman. On the extremely rare occasion I have ever had to return a coin, he has apologized for sending a coin that didn't meet my expectations and pledged to do better in the future. Wow ... up until working with Dave, I have never experienced such an approach to a return. Quality coins ... quality person.
    Numismatist Ordinaire
    See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
  • zas107zas107 Posts: 823 ✭✭✭
    As an adult I have very positive experiences with dealers, but what sticks in my memory was going into the shop of a man who I believe was named Gene Medea as a child (I could be totally wrong about the name). I remember him treating me nicely and letting me look at coins that as a young kid, couldn't afford and telling me about them. I absolutely loved going to his shop on the weekends with my father. image
  • lcoopielcoopie Posts: 8,692 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I email my dealer requesting a coin on his website

    He emails me back
    "no coin for you"

    A better one will come along

    He hooked me permanently image
    LCoopie = Les
  • abitofthisabitofthatabitofthisabitofthat Posts: 2,142 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Both Stacks and Heritage have treated me to dinner. I didn't even have to show my bidding paddle to get in line.image >>



    +1

    merse

  • OldEastsideOldEastside Posts: 4,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    When I was a kid in the early 70's, I lived in Santa Barbara and there were 2 shops next door to each other,
    one was Ron Gillio's and the other was Bob Barnes's, and for a couple of summers I haunted both and in Ron's
    shop he was really into high end stuff and gold and there was nothing really I could even imagine that I could
    afford, I was a poor kid that liked coins, and he had these two abrasive/grizzled guys working for him and they
    knew I was a poor kid, but they let me hang around and listen and watch as long as I stayed out of the way
    and now and then they would hand me paper towels and windex and say get busy on the showcases, and if
    I was around at lunch time they would send me out for lunch they would buy and I would fly, they gave me
    used whitmans after they emtied them out and they also gave me some old Redbooks that came with collections
    they bought. To know those two old koots was to love em and I learned alot there. I'll never forget those guys.

    Next door over was Bob Barnes shop and that was an actual Mom & Pop shop and Bob and his wife were good
    people too!, they also knew I was a poor kid and they went out of there way to educate me about coins, they also
    used to give me used whitmans, one summer I put together a V Nickel set in AG to fine, all from Bobs 10cent Junk
    Box, I completed the set except for the 85 and 86 out of that junk box, and looking back I know damn well that
    Bob seeded that box for me.

    Steve
    Promote the Hobby
  • SmEagle1795SmEagle1795 Posts: 2,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Some of my most memorable dinners have been paid for by dealers and auction houses. I now make a point of taking my favorite dealers out to dinner at shows/inviting them over for drinks, and I'm always surprised at how much they don't expect it and appreciate it.

    Take care of your dealers, people!
    Learn about our world's shared history told through the first millennium of coinage: Colosseo Collection
  • This goes back a few years. While stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso I found a coin shop ran by a gentleman named Dewey Fields. The highlight of my week was going by the shop to participate in the weekly bid board. Dewey helped me put together a Mexico type set and a collection of Mexico 1 peso. I still have the type set but between many moves and a divorce the peso set has been lost. Lots of good memories.

    After the military I was living in an area without a lot of coin shops, so using the CW ads I found an offer for mail bids from Dan Archer in Minden, LA. That started a long time mail relationship. Most of my Barber dime set and a lot of my Morgan $ set came from Dan. His grades for MS material were Unc. BU and Choice BU. With just those 3 descriptions I always knew what I would get. It was a great relationship and once while on a business trip to Shreveport, I made time to meet Dan face to face.
    I live in my own world. But it's OK, they know me there.
  • renomedphysrenomedphys Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The worst for me is when a B&M chooses to staff their shop with "know-nothings" while the wise old dealer hides in the back. There is a dealer in my area that's famous for this, and screens any questions through his teenage girls up front. Generally the answers given are relayed through the same girls. When things get complicated, like if there was a misunderstanding of the question, or if there's a followup question, they tell you to make an appointment. All that just for a tidbit of info that could be handled in a 1 minute exchange.

    Sooooo, long story short, I outed this guy a couple of years ago here in the thread about his brand new '76-CC 20, and the next time I walked into his shop, one of the teenage girls told me to wait. Out comes this vampire-looking Cruella-Deville type woman (his wife) with a printout of my post asking if this was me. I admitted yes, and was then asked why I would do such a thing. I said that I stand by my comments. Then she informed me that I was personna-non-grata. To be honest, that was probably the best possible outcome.

    What's funny is that not one, but two other forum members were kind enough to admit also being banned from this particular little kingdom. Guess he's looking for a particular type of clientele.
  • EXOJUNKIEEXOJUNKIE Posts: 1,609 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My favorite dealer was my father, a longtime collector who ventured into the coin business with a B&M in the early 1980s. He taught me a lot. He let me--as a young man--work often in the shop, sometimes unsupervised. image We worked a lot of shows together. He paid me with coins. image Although he ultimately wasn't successful enough to keep the business going (maybe because I was unsupervised too much!), he fueled in me a life-long passion for numismatics and we still have coins in common today. image
    I'm addicted to exonumia ... it is numismatic crack!

    ANA LM

    USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
  • ebariebari Posts: 40
    I have just recently bought a coin from a local dealer(CRO) who happens to be one of the best for this series, we meet at a local Starbucks for the exchange, and started to chat for about an hour. Very friendly and knowledgeable about the hobby in my opinion. I was very impressed he gave me the time to educate me about Colonials.
    Thanks Ed
    My passion is copper state colonials.
  • silverpopsilverpop Posts: 6,591 ✭✭✭✭✭
    never had any bad issues with the coin shop here in town, the current owner is nice, polite and knows his coins ask a question he will try and answer it

    the former owners were friendly and knew enough about coins to help you if needed

  • cmerlo1cmerlo1 Posts: 7,890 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My experiences at shows and at the local shops here in Austin have been mostly positive. I can't say enough good things about McBride's, Village Coin, and Austin's Best Coin & Gold Exchange. I consider the people there to be friends, and they treat me the same way.

    There are a few dealers, including a downtown San Antonio shop, that I will not do business with any more because I've been treated rudely at one time or another...
    You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
  • pennyanniepennyannie Posts: 3,929 ✭✭✭
    Years ago i was a Ron Swineys coins in Fort Worth texas. A man and his 2 kids came in, the man was looking at all the trays and the kids were running wild. The father said the older of the 2 kids liked coins and he called him over. He looked at a few but you could tell he was bored. Ron Swiney had a bowl of buffalo nickels and told the boy he could have a buffalo nickel. The little boy ( about 5 to 7 years old) studied the coins for a long minute or 2 and picked one. The father was going on and on about his son being a collector and many thanks. With in seconds the boy was back at the counter with gum in hand. He put that nickel in the gum ball machine. I still get a laugh when i think about that one.
    Mark
    NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
    working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!

    RIP "BEAR"
  • CuKevinCuKevin Posts: 1,690 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Years ago i was a Ron Swineys coins in Fort Worth texas. A man and his 2 kids came in, the man was looking at all the trays and the kids were running wild. The father said the older of the 2 kids liked coins and he called him over. He looked at a few but you could tell he was bored. Ron Swiney had a bowl of buffalo nickels and told the boy he could have a buffalo nickel. The little boy ( about 5 to 7 years old) studied the coins for a long minute or 2 and picked one. The father was going on and on about his son being a collector and many thanks. With in seconds the boy was back at the counter with gum in hand. He put that nickel in the gum ball machine. I still get a laugh when i think about that one. >>



    That makes for quite an excellent story! image
    Choice Numismatics www.ChoiceCoin.com

    CN eBay

    All of my collection is in a safe deposit box!
  • "If someone says 'A penny for your thoughts' and you give them your 2 cents worth, what happens to the extra penny?" G.Carlin
  • lkeigwinlkeigwin Posts: 16,885 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>As for great dealers I have found Angel Dees to be absolutely outstanding! >>


    This is so true. Andy and Alynne are a class act. I have many stories of great experiences with Angel Dees. Among them, the time Andy mailed me a coin he knew I needed...not terribly expensive (3 digits), and said "keep it...it's on the house".
    Lance.
  • CoinRaritiesOnlineCoinRaritiesOnline Posts: 3,638 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Andy mailed me a coin he knew I needed...not terribly expensive (3 digits), and said "keep it...it's on the house".

    Lance. >>



    It's hard to beat service like that.
  • SoCalBigMarkSoCalBigMark Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Andy is the CRO of copper...image
  • While I have had many good dealings there was recently got me thinking about a local dealer (who shall remain nameless). This dealer is one who is noted for integrity and overall coin knowledge so I had no problem going to him with a coin that I thought was very unusual in that it had what appeared to be multiple strikings. Since I was new to collecting I went to him about advice on what I should do with the coin that I had found while roll searching.

    Anyway when I had shown him the coin he advised that he wouldn't hesitate but send it off for grading. So I was happy but thought that I needed to take a couple of pictures and look at them enlarged. Short story is this how I learned that some people really do mistreat their coins and put the in a vise and squeeze.

    I still value his integrity and overall coin knowledge, I just am now a little bit doubtful of his ability to identify variations.

    Told him the story and we had a good laugh over it, and he says that now a newcomer has taught him a lesson.

    The lesson didn't cost me anything but a lesson was learned. I do know that not everyone is an expert on all coins and variations.
    Successful BST with Nolawyer, Whitetornado, Messydesk, whit, lasvegasteddy,cohodk,allcoinsrule, watersport, blackhawk, tonedase, PRoemisch
  • rec78rec78 Posts: 5,675 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good

    There are things that happen along the way in life that you never forget. I was slowly putting together a liberty seated half dollar set. I got a catalog from Larry Briggs. I set it aside for over a year. Then I decided to call Mr. Briggs and see if he still a 1871-CC seated half dollar in VF/XF condition that was in his now over a year old catalog. A woman answered the phone (his wife? perhaps). i asked her about the coin and also if it was for sale at the same price listed in the catalog. She said that he still had it but the price was not the same. I figured oh, well, I might buy it anyways. Then she said that it was on sale for $50 below the listed price in last years catalog. image OF COURSE I BOUGHT IT. She did not have to tell me that it was on sale.

    I met a dealer at a coin auction. He told me he had a coin shop-kinda local maybe 20 miles from my home. I went there and bought a few coins. I was interested in a few gold coins, but did not have the money on me. He said "Take them with you". What a surprise that was. I did not know this dealer and he did not know me except from a few minutes at an auction. For some reason he just trusted me and I don't know why. I did buy the 3 gold coins for $1100. Now, who would trust a total stranger with $1100 worth of gold coins?

    Bad

    The first big coin show that I went to I asked a dealer about a buffalo nickel. This was and still is a well - known dealer. I was young maybe 20. He was talking to another guy about something other than coins while I waited to find out a price on the nickel. He was very rude to me and snippy and did not seem interested in selling it to me. Years later I was at a Baltimore show looking at a page of liberty seated coins,when, another collector come along and asked to see the coins in the page that i was looking at. The dealer's wife just grabs the page out of my hands and gives it to the other collector--Maybe a preferred customer-but there was no need to be rude and do something like this. SAME DEALER-Him and his wife are a bunch of snobs. Another time I steered a friend to his case and I sold a $700 coin for him. He was snobbish again when I told him that I sent the collector to him to buy that coin and offered me nothing for selling it. He could have threw me $5 even. I did not care if he did not want to give me anything,it was just his attitude.He did have the one 3 cent silver in his case that I would have bought from any other dealer.SAME DEALER-- STRIKE THREE--His attitude just turned me totally off and to this day I do not have the particular date, but I would not buy it from him no matter how cheap. I totally avoid this jerk now. This particular dealer sells nothing cheap and never comes down on anything.

    Instant Karma

    A local friend of mine who was a dealer for many years and is now deceased, unfortunately. A co-worker asked me to get her a good book on coins, so I figured I would buy her a red book . My grandson was starting to collect the state quarters at this time. I walked into the shop and told him that I needed a red book for a friend. He said that he had one left of last year's issues that I could have.(no charge) and he also gave me a state quarter map (the last one he had). I noticed a 1983 mint set on his desk(government issue but only the P mint coins) I said "how much"? He replies 2 bucks.image For $2 dollars I helped a friend, got a state quarter map for my grandson, and a 1983-P mint set. I would not have gone into his shop that week if I did not need that red book.

    Bob
    image
  • JSssonJSsson Posts: 891


    << <i>The worst for me is when a B&M chooses to staff their shop with "know-nothings" while the wise old dealer hides in the back. There is a dealer in my area that's famous for this, and screens any questions through his teenage girls up front. Generally the answers given are relayed through the same girls. When things get complicated, like if there was a misunderstanding of the question, or if there's a followup question, they tell you to make an appointment. All that just for a tidbit of info that could be handled in a 1 minute exchange.

    Sooooo, long story short, I outed this guy a couple of years ago here in the thread about his brand new '76-CC 20, and the next time I walked into his shop, one of the teenage girls told me to wait. Out comes this vampire-looking Cruella-Deville type woman (his wife) with a printout of my post asking if this was me. I admitted yes, and was then asked why I would do such a thing. I said that I stand by my comments. Then she informed me that I was personna-non-grata. To be honest, that was probably the best possible outcome.

    What's funny is that not one, but two other forum members were kind enough to admit also being banned from this particular little kingdom. Guess he's looking for a particular type of clientele. >>



    When you get rich by marriage to a Cruella-Deville looking woman from a rich family you get to be an arrogant jerk. That dealer didn't make his money through his shop. He made it by winning the matrimony lottery. You aren't the only one who hates him. No dealers I know take him seriously and calling his coins overpriced is an understatement. He thinks he owns the Carson City mint show and as you said he uses his teenage help to act as a filter. Ive never seen him sell a coin and nobody I know in their right mind would ever buy anything from him given his terrible customer service, communications skills and stick up the rear attitude.
  • northcoinnorthcoin Posts: 4,987 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>share your stories of bad or good experiances with dealers.
    Taylor >>



    I was at the Santa Clara show some years ago with a 1794 Starred Reverse S-48 that I had recently acquired. A dealer that I showed it to took the special effort to track down several of the Early Copper specialists at the show so I could learn more about the coin. As a result one of them did a little research and subsequently sent me a photo of the very coin as it had been captured by Bill Noyes. The specialist was from Redondo Beach and I don't know if he was also a dealer or not.

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