Dealers: What’s the coolest thing that ever walked up to your table at a show?
MrEureka
Posts: 24,661 ✭✭✭✭✭
This one comes to mind for no particular reason. 
Back in the mid-80’s at a GSNA show in Cherry Hill, NJ, Larry Whitlow walked up to my table with this holder, including the coins. IIRC, I paid him 45K for a 50% interest in the set. Actually, the first piece may not have been part of the deal, so maybe it was just the pattern. Either way, a unique pattern $20 gold STRUCK IN GOLD is a pretty cool thing to walk up to your table. Especially in New Jersey!
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
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When Sil walked up to my table with the raw GOLD Buffalo Nickel. It’s a long story, published extensively, and I finally sold it to Jim Gately for his Buffalo Nickel Registry Set in a NGC straight holder for $400k. It crossed to PCGS.
A nice cool custom holder.
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
I saw Jeff Probst (host of Survivor) walk up to a table once.
(It was at an Applebee's, but still, kind of cool.)
Uncancelled reverse die for a With Motto Seated Liberty Silver Dollar, S mint mark.
Cool, but a No Motto reverse with a C or D mintmark would be cooler.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
If you get the coin, the holder is yours!
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Them Charlotte Mint Silver Dollar dies are a bit scarce!
I’ve walked up to your table many times, Andy 😊
I think he meant the other west coast Jeremy who has walked up to his table many times 😉
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
What ever happened to Larry Whitlow?
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
.
Larry died in 2014.
https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/longtime-dealer-larry-whitlow-dies-at-72.html
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
45 years in my store (not at a show) and an 1808 $2 1/2 (AU with a small loop attached) came in . The family had gone to a local jeweler to scrap their gold and luckily the jeweler knew me and said it could be worth more as a coin! A SAVE!
A nice BU roll of Franks walked up to my table many years ago (can’t recall the date of the coins). Got a number of them slabbed and did real well with them whether slabbed or raw. Double bubble and more.
Had barely bought them some guy wanted look at them like pick the deal off. To get rid of him - Told him “they are for a customer.” Then put the roll in bank bag. He walked off a huff in lol.
Thank you, I didn't know that.
RIP
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
The problem is that I remember when you could get BU rolls of Franklins at the bank each year, but who had $10????
It's not that the silver is worth more, it's just that your $10 buys less silver....
Coin Photography
She was about 5’7” 135 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes.
He said 'coolest' not rarest.
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
During a brief stint as a dealer in the 80’s I specialized in Lincoln cents. Other dealers would bring me some great material, including original rolls from the 30’s, which were saved in quantity. One roll in particular was amazing. 1930S, 90% of them a beautiful lustrous pale gold color. The color was so unusual I initially thought they had been processed in some way. Sadly, all were dispersed over time. I did keep some partial rolls of the more common 30’s. I may send some of the best coins in one day to see if I can get a 67, mainly for fun.
Too expensive.
Debbie?
Only if the table she walked up to was in Dallas.
I heard that was a good movie. 😉
Chance favors the prepared mind.
I decided to look up the specific pieces mentioned on the Capital holder ( I presumed a Capital)
The garrett pieces lot 796> @MrEureka said:
Ah ... I just looked up the pieces. I may be mistaken, however I think there was a an error on the holder engraving... the Garrett piece may have been Lot 794 (TWENTY D.) not Lot 796 as noted on the holder
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
As a collector at a show sitting at a dealers table looking at her coins.
Guy walks up to show her some coins he inherited in an old sowing kit box. she took one look at them and was shocked as she pulled out a circulated 1792 Disme!!!
she said she could not handle such a coin and sent the man over to a big dealer there that day who probably had the resources to buy it.
Assuming it was real . This was in the mid 1980's. wild stuff!!
One show I was set up at had a Stella come in and offered to a dealer across the aisle, I think they wanted cash.
Somehow I doubt anybody would have had the cash on hand for that...
Serving the greater Mechanicsburg and Camp Hill, PA area
https://zenithbullionconsulting.wordpress.com/
I saw the dealer finding a lot. I've seen many major dealers with lots of cash to do deals.
Quite difficult rare coin. Only 8 known, all graded MS62-MS63.
After I sent to ANACS:
It is the earliest known die state for the die pair that would quickly evolve to the Scarface.
Oh, I would bet you that at every major there was always a half a dozen people who started with a $100K bank and brought in more as needed.
I’d take the ‘over’ of six dealers having 100 grand in cash or more at major coin shows.
I was at a local small coin club show/sale with 4 dealers and me showing up with some odd stuff priced on the higher side.
Mostly silver but I'd wager there was $100k in that room for buying.
Being a Small fish in the room, I had about $8k cash and $30k in my 2 cases.
I made a few offers on some gold that people brought in to sell but the dealer on the other side of the room was paying strong for gold and I wasn't.
I know, but I wasn't sure if we were talking about the mid 1980's or not, back when $100K was still worth something.
It was not for sale, and it was not coins, but one of the customers brought in his collectoin of Civil War patrotic covers, which are envelopes which were printed during the Civl War era. He had a couple hundred of them.
For those who are not familiar, here is an example.
This envelope is often associated with this "North Star" Civil War token.
I wonder how they work out the record keeping as any transactions over a certain amount triggers mandatory reporting to the government and an 8300 form.
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/form-8300-and-reporting-cash-payments-of-over-10000
@CaptHenway and @FredWeinberg I mean...I've been to a few shows big and small, and they all brag about having armed security on hand. But $100k cash in hand? Perhaps I'm underestimating how well-capitalized the dealers are.
I wouldn't doubt for a moment that many dealers have over $100k available to them for business purposes, but that's a lot of cash for one person/one table to hold at the ready.
@logger7 I'd guess they either arrange trades of merchandise to avoid triggering a reportable transaction...or just file the 8300. If you're in the rare coin business, it's probably not uncommon to withdraw $10k cash or more, and you can easily explain it as a cost of doing business if anybody asks.
I wouldn't advise trying to avoid mandatory reporting...banks (and especially the government) will frown heavily upon that!
Interesting related note...that $10k requirement comes from the Bank Secrecy Act, passed in 1970, when $10k could buy two brand-new Corvettes. They obviously didn't enter an inflation adjustment, so 56 years later, that same threshold is still in effect, and it's barely enough to buy 2 ounces of gold, let alone 2 cars! (For comparison's sake - two brand-new Corvettes today would cost $140,000, excluding destination fees) Source: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/bank-secrecy-act
Serving the greater Mechanicsburg and Camp Hill, PA area
https://zenithbullionconsulting.wordpress.com/
There's an old saying. It takes money to make money.
But if you factor all the corresponding economic factors in comparing to 1970 to 2026 with what was being targetted then and what is being targetted now by this law, how it was and in enforced, ie to combat money laundering, potential stolen material, etc. it still makes some sense.
Talk about a derailed thread. I was hoping for a bunch of cool stories from dealers. Got a few then the folks who had nothing of interest to say just had to participate. Happens a lot here.
always has. give birth to a thread and it is immediately an independent being
Yeah, I sometimes tire of it. And here I am OT myself.
Was at our table at an ANA show in the 90's when a gentleman came up and handed me an 1802 Half Dime and asked if we were interested. Now, this coin had been worn almost slick, but before it became that worn it had been slightly bent back at the lower obverse so that the date was protected a bit and was still readable. There was no question in my mind that the piece was a genuine, 1802 Half Dime, but I just did not want it.
I politely declined, but told the man that back in the 70's I had once worked with a collector that it would have been perfect for. This collector had set out to collect one of each regular issue (no Proof only) copper, copper-nickel and silver (no gold) U.S. coin ever issued, but on a teacher's salary so condition was not important. Basically this was the low-end Eliasberg Collection. The collector even had one of the two circulated 1894-S Dimes!
I then said that "The man was James G. Johnson at Coin World in Sidney, Ohio," and the guy at the table blurts out "That was my Father!" I had been right, that coin was perfect for Jim's collection. The gentleman sat down and we had a nice long talk about his Dad.
Thanks for putting this one back on the rails.
Excellent post. What a great story.
Nice one, Captain!