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Why Coin Dealers Drink, Part 4 (literally) --- A Post From a Very Old Coin Forum: Mason's Coin Mag
numisma
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While doing a bit of research last night, I ran across what could be the fourth installment of the "Why Coin Dealers Drink" series of threads that are so popular on the PCGS forum. I actually have the first three installments as well, but I like part 4 the best. The title for the original "thread" was "LIFE SCENES IN THE EXPERIENCE OF A COIN DEALER," which is markedly more elegant than the modern "why we drink" type of title.
The series was written by Ebenezer Locke Mason, Jr., and each month he would relate an entertaining story about the challenges of dealing with the public. Surprisingly, the tone he took with customers in 1870 is not much different than the way some dealers are today. If anything, he was harsher than what would want to tolerate in this day and age.
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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
Thanks.
"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
Today, a lady came into the shop with non-numismatic items. My response was , "this is a coin shop". Her response: "I know".
She got money and I got something to "drink" out of. A couple shot glasses from the Hard Rock Cafe Boston and Orlando, plus +
Would post photos, but unsure if it's acceptable behavior from a coin dealer.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Partner @Gold Hill Coin
History repeats itself!
And people still struggle to make decisions when they have very incomplete information (yet are often unwilling to learn).
Just like we saw in the parallel experiences from the person who ran the video game rental store.
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=894959&STARTPAGE=1
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
<< <i>Were 1798 large cents only worth a nickel in 1870? Sounds like a low ball offer.
You think that was a low ball offer? I have heard that dealers only paid face value for 90% silver coins at that time.
<< <i>
<< <i>Were 1798 large cents only worth a nickel in 1870? Sounds like a low ball offer.
You think that was a low ball offer? I have heard that dealers only paid face value for 90% silver coins at that time.
Were 1798 large cents still in circulation in 1870?
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
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Not really looking for much these days but if I were, it might be a toner.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
<< <i>If anyone's interested, Mason's has been reprinted, and a set can be purchased very reasonably. >>
There were only 215 copies reprinted, but Andy is correct that the prices are reasonable. I recommend the reprints to everyone who loves early American numismatics. There was a long-standing feud between a couple of coin dealers and they exchanged terse words via these early journals.
Just as the story in the OP is comparable to a modern forum post, the dealer letters back and forth were the equivalent of a prehistoric, numismatic "flame war."
Here's a set priced at $100 - Charles Davis