Are coin dealers more likely to be numismatists or business persons?
ModCrewman
Posts: 4,041 ✭✭✭✭✭
I was perusing the PCGS Board of Experts on their website and there were a few where I asked myself that very question, so what is your opinion?
Question: Is someone who holds themselves out as a full-time coin dealer more likely to be a true numismatist (what I'd define as an academic in the field of numismatics) or a business person (I define as someone that knows how to make money with coins)?"
For follow-up in the comments, which of these is your favorite dealer?
Are coin dealers more likely to be numismatists or business persons?
This is a private poll: no-one will see what you voted for.
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The choices make it tough... at one point in time, years ago, I would choose the first one... then in later years, I would select the third... Now, the second choice seems to be more frequently encountered. Cheers, RickO
For me, coins came first, then the business, so both.
i think they both go hand in had on the topic. it makes it a whole lot better if you have a passion to go with it. jmo
I went with "both"....but being a business person is probably the more important attribute.
Once sold some Morgan's to a fairly well known dealer at a show. One was labeled, "reverse of '78". He asked, "What the hell does that mean?"
The dude has probably sold 10's of thousands of Morgans! It just wasn't part of his bag of "important things".
Most dealers I've run into seem to hate coins.
I always assumed they started out as collectors and then their spirits were crushed along the way.
To be successful you have to be both. Most coin dealers that I have dealt with first are collectors. Once your a collector you see the opportunity to make money in something you have passion in. Knowledge is important.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
More likely.... to be numismatists...
How "business people" is defined in this poll is somewhat limited. When you own a business as a business person you play the following roles at different times:
Numismatist, CEO, accountant, marketing VP, secretary, janitor, advertising agent, charitable liaison, human resources, mathematician, counsellor, decorator, leasing agent, lawyer, trainer, salesperson, committee chair, security, and buyer.... many more..
Most coin dealers in one person shops are some of these but not all. As a business consultant for years I see areas of improvement in every coin shop I have ever been to. (I keep it to myself) Granted the business model is a rather strange one in a lot of ways. And often resources are limited. This type of business happens at the counter, on the internet and on the road. Thats what keeps the light on. It is not easy when the "market" is slow.
Good Poll!
When trying to sell a couple of attributed varieties to a dealer, they were not interested in the variety just the coin when buying. When selling it was all about the variety.
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Both to be truly successful--you have to have a good eye but also be able to run the business end profitably.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Most coin dealers are average numismatists and average businessmen. That was always enough to get by. Not so much anymore.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
AMEN! And without slabs, the chaff would be separated from the grain so fast...LOL!
I wish I was more of a bidness person. But then I went to work for heritage and that helped me understand how to stay in business which is now decades. Thanks Paul! Steve! Jim!
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
I have seen a few dealers who tried to live by slab grades alone, and most of them didn't last for very long. If you stock up on an inventory of "C level graded" coins, you are going to be stuck with a lot of dead stock that will take you down.
Maybe a dealer, who is great marketer, could push the "dreck" on an unsuspected public. In the old days those guys sold through the print media. Today they could be Internet only dealers. Still they would need a cheap source for "dreck" to make it work. The overhead expenses for running such operations would be fairly high.
Still when I see fools bidding on acknowledged counterfeits (a piece with PCGS "counterfeit" body bag insert) on eBay, maybe a marketer, with no numismatic talent could survive.
Those most successful long-term will be both. The non-numismatists will probably rely more heavily on bullion activity to make their nut. At the other end, the non-business types will attract people with their depth of numismatic acumen, finding the right stuff for the right people but the business is purely dependent on their skill to survive.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
The ones I work with seem to be both.
@BillJones said: "I have seen a few dealers who tried to live by slab grades alone, and most of them didn't last for very long. If you stock up on an inventory of "C level graded" coins, you are going to be stuck with a lot of dead stock that will take you down.
**Maybe a dealer, who is great marketer, could push the "dreck" on an unsuspected public. ** [LOL, you think?] In the old days those guys sold through the print media. Today they could be Internet only dealers. Still they would need a cheap source for "dreck" to make it work. The overhead expenses for running such operations would be fairly high."
@BillJones posted: "Still when I see fools bidding on acknowledged counterfeits (a piece with PCGS "counterfeit" body bag insert) on eBay, maybe a marketer, with no numismatic talent could survive."
Fools? Some of fools also collect state-of-the-art, extremely deceptive counterfeits. ANA instructors and other TPGS/CAC professionals who can authenticate and grade you ... ah, never mind. I appreciate your knowledgeable opinion.
I also wish to give you a well deserved shout out as you have proved to be a man of your word. You promised a few weeks ago to stop posting and grumbling about TPGS/CAC errors (unless for our education) and you have kept your word.
No strictly business person would go into coins - margins are too thin.
I know dealers who can check all three choices.
BHNC #203
I'm in the both crowd .
And I'm pretty good at it .
Here's my latest .
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-S-CLOSE-AM-LINCOLN-NGC-PF-69-RD-ULTRA-CAMEO-1C-US-Mint-error-coin/272845078938?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Guess you were at the right place at the right time with some knowledge. Think of the millions of dealers/collectors who never heard of these "AM" varieties that passed out of their hands before someone "discovered" them and spread the word.
Mine is only a year 2000 Type 2 (Wide AM) Proof Reverse ........... the 1999s are much rarer ........
If you are selling coins, you are selling product. You have to be able to market your product, as well as be able to distinguish the degree of quality of the product being sold. Ie., you don't have to have any particular love for what you sell, but you need to be able to know what is nice and what is not, and why.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I had to play collector & business man on this one .
I found it about a week ago and put it in my watch list, seller was asking 149.00 dollars .
2 hours before the listing ended, I sent the seller a email and told them I give them 129.00 dollars .
Listing ended and 24 hours later they relisted it for 149.00 dollars again .
I was on ebay last night and the seller told me they lowered it to my offer and I'd better act quick .
Well, you can guess the rest ...
I would say both.
As my debt increases, so does my credit score.... I'm still a wannabe numismatist. Don't think I'll ever be a full fledged businessman. Although, anyone who runs a deficit as long as I have should be a politician.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5