Question for the coin Dealers.

magazineman · October 23, 2007 9:15AM

This may have been asked before but I can't find it. I'm curious as to how you started your coin business. Did you start on a shoestring? Was it easier monetarily 20 years ago to start? Can it still be done today on a shoestring or is that just not possible anymore.

seemyauction · October 23, 2007 9:38AM

I became a "Dealer" on a shoe string and now I can't even afford shoes......

PerryHall · October 23, 2007 9:40AM

I know several small dealers that used their collections as their stock to start a dealership after they retired from their day job.

mrearlygold · October 23, 2007 9:41AM

It's the life we've chose

poorguy · October 24, 2007 10:34AM

Well, to be honest, I grew up under less than ideal financial circumstances in rural Louisiana. My wife and I with our 4 year old (Dylan) and newborn (Parker) were living in Lake Charles where we were both going to college and working full time as a web application developer/webmaster and my wife was student teaching when I was recruited by Pinnacle Rarities via Mark Feld on these message boards. Adrian then contacted me via this same board and we began talking about the direction of his coin business. After meeting with him in Dallas and mulling over his offer, my wife and I decided that it was a good opportunity and it was closer to Louisiana and our families whom we are close to.

So, since we couldn't afford to pay for MORE moving fees back down to the south, we decided to stuff whatever we could from my apartment in my black hatchback and shipped some family heirlooms and material posessions down to our hometown of Elton, LA. The rest we tried to sell and managed to raise some money from that. Heck, we only had about 48 hours from when my wife arrived in Washington to prepare for our departure. We spoke with the apartment management and they knew of a single mother who was staying in the complex that was seriously down on her luck. We decided to leave whatever we couldn't sell to her and her baby. Since we had two kids there was plenty of stuff in there that she hopefully has found useful. I never even met her. I hope she and her baby are doing well.

We left Washington on a Wednesday night after stopping at Pizza hut and ordered a couple of pizzas for the trip from Washington to Louisiana in a standard hatchback that didn't have a heater in late December. We headed down I-5 and detoured to 101 to have a more scenic drive. Nightfall came and we stopped in northern Oregon and visited the coast at the Sand Dune National Park? along the coastline. That night we travelled on through the Redwood national forest and had plenty of trouble seeing the narrow winding road with steep chasms because the headlights on my car were pointing too low so I couldn't see more than 15 feet in front of me. We would wait for cars to come up behind us (rare occasion) and we would use the light they would glow around us to see a bit but they would eventually pass us. When they did, we tried to keep up but never had success.

It was freezing in the Coastal Range when we started heading back towards I-5 where we stayed in a small hotel in a town with one gas station in the mountains. The next morning we headed over to I-5, headed down to Los Angeles and took I-10 all the way to Texas. We stopped off in Dallas, found an apartment at a moments notice, and headed off to Elton, Louisiana to spend the holidays with the family. After the first, we headed back to Dallas with the stuff we shipped from Washington (even our broken champagne flutes we used at our Wedding reception). We settled in, found day care for the kids, my wife got her Texas teaching certificates, and now works as a Middle School English teacher in Garland, TX. Several years later, here I am and here is Anaconda Rare Coins. I have to say that I feel extremely lucky and grateful to the Almighty for these opportunities blessed upon my family and me. My wife and I built our house 2 years ago and things couldn't be going much better. I'm most grateful for the life my children will have now that we are financially stable.

I've never posted this before. I hope it wasn't too detailed and boring.

I don't think I've ever publically thanked Pinnacle Rarities and Mark Feld for helping commence my career nor have I ever publically thanked Adrian for the opportunity he gave me. Thanks guys.

speety · October 24, 2007 11:18AM

BK, great story! That drive is gorgeous down the coast, when it's daylight and you have a heater. You should give it another shot when you are back out that way.

grabba · October 24, 2007 11:22AM

Neat story BK! Thanks for sharing.

NHSBaseball · October 24, 2007 12:36PM

Elton, huh? Did you proudly wear the Maroon and gold of the Elton Indians?

Seriously, great story, and I always enjoy looking at the awesome coins at Anaconda. I wish your wife luck and patience, as I too teach school and know that it is a valuable commodity!

fivecents · October 24, 2007 1:04PM

Good story Brandon. You have a great memory for details. Thanks for posting it.

options26 · October 24, 2007 1:15PM

Good for you Brandon. I sit on the side lines most of the time, but had to chime in. Hopefully in a few years I may even send you some business, as I always love your choice of coins. But fortunately I too am making my own destiny and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. A few more years and we will see. Once again, Good for you Brandon.

Jim

poorguy · October 25, 2007 1:50AM

<< <i>Elton, huh? Did you proudly wear the Maroon and gold of the Elton Indians?

Seriously, great story, and I always enjoy looking at the awesome coins at Anaconda. I wish your wife luck and patience, as I too teach school and know that it is a valuable commodity! >>

Actually, I lived right across from the school in a house that my great grandfather, Ix Fruge - First Mayor of Elton, built in 1905. My wife attended Elton High School. I went to Kinder High School because my mother was a teacher in Kinder and I guess she found it easier to just bring us to her school when my sister and I were young. Since we were already going there, we just stayed there through the end. So, my wife was a cheerleader in Maroon and Gold (Indians), and I was playing football in Black and Gold (Yellowjackets). Those close small town rivalries were tough and not alot of love between the schools existed. It always made for interesting Friday night games.

Are you from the area?

MrEureka · October 25, 2007 3:39AM

I started collecting as a young kid. After haunting the local coin shop for a year and going to about half a dozen local coin shows, I decided to try my luck on the other side of the tables. I was 15 at the time. I was too young to even wonder if it was a viable business. I just wanted to do it, so I did it.

As for collectors that may be considering doing coins for a living, try it part time first. It won't take long before you know if full time is a good idea.

ricko · October 25, 2007 5:20AM

Cool story Brandon.... Cheers, RickO

bidask · October 25, 2007 10:55AM

Great story Brandon.........thanks for your public acknowledgement of your coin mentors, your wife, and the Almighty in your coin career.

NHSBaseball · October 25, 2007 2:37PM

Brandon- I'm from the Baton Rouge area, but coach baseball and football, so I've been to a good number of schools across the state in the past 14 years. My Mom lived in Iota for a time. Talking about those small town rivalries the Iota/Jennings game was always fun. I'm now at Northeast High in Pride/Cheneyville- the proud home of Doug Williams and Trindon Holliday

Again, I always enjoy checking out the Anaconda website and have enjoyed your posts.

Question for the coin Dealers.

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